Lily Potter and the Stone of Merlin
by Jitterbelle
Summary: Sequel and final story to 'Final Prophecy.'  Lily has taken on her former friend's case and he insists on accompanying her.  Now Lily and Eddie must use their ultimate powers to learn of the truth behind the kidnap and the Stone...before it is too late.
1. Prologue: The Mistress of Magic

**Prologue – The Mistress of Magic:**

"Mr. Weasley?" came a gentle voice, shaking the elder man awake. Ron awoke with a start and began scratching his graying red hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry Davanee," he said with a croaky voice. "I was just sitting here and I suppose I fell asleep."

"It's quite alright Mr. Weasley," she said a smile. "I just wanted to remind you that visiting hours end in five minutes. Normally, I'd let you stay but my boss caught me letting you stay after hours and-"

"It's fine Davanee," Ron said with a smile. "I thank you for all that you've done for me and my wife these last few years."

"Of course Mr. Weasley," said Davanee, chuckling softly. "It is what I am here for." Ron shared a chuckle and turned back to his sleeping wife.

Hermione had been in a coma for eight years now. The doctors and nurses claimed that she would never come out and that it was just better to let her die. Ron would here none of it, knowing that one day his wife would come back to him and his children.

Little Annie was now in her first year at Hogwarts, sorted into Gryffindor just like the rest of the family. Annie was shy and humble, but had her mother's brains. Ron knew that was where she belonged. Annie reminded him so much of her mother, with her bushy red hair and big almond shaped brown eyes.

Teresa had now entered her fifth year at Hogwarts. According to her record and the constant owls Ron got about her behavior, Teresa had taken much after her uncles; Fred and George Weasley. Teresa was very mischievous, but very humorous and intelligent. She was also sorted into Gryffindor and Ron sometimes worried if Teresa would look after Anne while the two of them were at Hogwarts. One thing was for sure, she definitely did not take after their parents for she did not receive the honor of being prefect. Ron didn't care, he was proud of her no matter what.

Then, there was Eddie. Ron, Ginny, Teresa, Anne, nor Lily, no one had heard from Eddie since he left England eight years ago. No one received an owl or anything from him. Everyone, except Lily, had sent him many owls and notes, hoping to hear something from him. But everything went unanswered. They knew he was still alive because the owls always managed to deliver him the letters and packages. It were as though Eddie had fallen off the face of the planet.

Ron knew Hermione would never accept this kind of behavior from Eddie, but she was still in her coma and Ron was much too stressed with working and trying to raise his two daughters. Ginny and Fred tried to help as often as they could, but there was only so much they could do. Ron felt lost without his wife. Several times Fred tried to get Ron to see other people but he insisted that his heart was with and always will be with Hermione.

Ron was now working at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The heavily scarred Neville Longbottom had become Headmaster after his term as Minister of Magic had ended. Neville never married due to his low self-esteem because of his scarred face, so he dedicated his life to teaching be becoming the Herbology professor and now acclaimed Headmaster. Ron knew both Albus Dumbledore and Hermione would be proud with Neville's work as Headmaster. And when Neville asked Ron to work as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he couldn't say now and has had this post for almost six years now. He was very comfortable with it.

Ginny and Fred continued to run their successful joke shop and lived together in a flat until Ginny remarried and started her own family, but continued to run the joke shop beside her brother. It was almost like Ginny felt she had to take George's place, for the sake of Fred.

Ron heard loud clanks coming down the hall and he smiled to himself as he turned around to see Asher and his wife, Yvonne, standing in the doorway of Hermione's hospital room. Asher hadn't changed a bit since he graduated with the exception of his legs. His face had become handsome with masculine, yet soft features, soft brown hair that fell into his eyes and his stormy gray eyes which were always dancing with amusement.

"Asher!" he said with a smile. He got up and embraced the boy who had become like a son to him in the past eight years tightly. "How are you?"

"Fantastic!" he said with a smile, "just had me legs checked up on and cleaned."

He lifted his pants and Ron smiled. Asher had gotten rid of his legs which were no longer of use to him and created a spell that gave him fake legs, however, being fake, they made him walk with a limp so he constantly carried around with a cane. It was a gold cane with the Hogwarts crest engraved on the side, hence the loud clanking one always heard when he was walking by. Ron thought it was a sin that a young man of twenty-five had to walk with a cane.

Yvonne and Asher continued to date long after Hogwarts, had been married for almost two years now, and Yvonne was pregnant with her first child. Ron couldn't have been happier for the pair of them. It was the kind of future he had always pictured for Ed and Lily, but if they couldn't have it, at least someone else he cared about could.

"Here to see Hermione?" Ron asked. Asher smiled.

"We visited her this morning," he said simply. "We actually came to see if you wanted to have dinner with Yvonne and myself tonight. We're heading to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, so it won't be out of your way. You may invite Teresa and Annie if you wish."

"Sounds great," said Ron with a smile. "Let me just say good-bye to my wife and send the girls an owl."

"Okay, we'll give you some privacy," said Yvonne, taking Asher's hand and leading him down the hall. "Meet you in the lobby, Ron?"

"Sure, see you in a bit," said Ron, turning back to give Hermione a tender kiss on the forehead.

* * *

Yvonne nearly had water squirt out of her nose as Teresa told of the latest prank she had pulled on the Gryffindor boys for teasing little Annie. Even Annie couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the boys not being able to speak, but simply croak as frogs.

"It was great! And the only way the spell could be reversed is if Anne here kissed them on the cheek," Teresa said proudly. "It's the last time those boys tease a Weasley!"

"Did you kiss any of them yet?" Asher asked eagerly. Anne blushed.

"Of course not!" Teresa nearly shouted. "She's too shy! Why do you think I chose that curse in particular?"

Once again, everyone roared with laughter and Anne blushed harder. Ron's heart melted at the sight of his youngest daughter and pulled her into a small embrace to comfort her shyness. At that moment, a group of Aurors came bursting into the pub and looked around the room, and when they set their eyes on Ron, they walked over to him.

"Mr. Weasley, we got an emergency call from you? Your fiancé has been kidnapped?" One of the Aurors, which looked like the leader of the group, asked Ron. Ron raised a confused eyebrow.

"Fiancé?" Anne whispered. "Dad?"

"You have a fiancé dad?" Teresa snapped angrily. "Bloody hell!"

"Watch your mouth, Teresa Molly Weasley!" Ron said sternly before turning to the guards. "I'm afraid you've made a mistake. I made no such call and I have no fiancé. I am a married man."

"Well, we received a call from a Mr. Weasley claiming his fiancé had been kidnapped. He claims to have received a ransom note stating that she was brought here to England. She is American, I believe?" the head Auror asked, reading off a small slip of paper. "You stated that you'd have no other Auror except the best to help find her."

"American…" Ron mumbled to himself. Then, it dawned on him. "Oh my, Merlin! My son!"

"I beg your pardon sir?"

"Son? Dad, you mean Eddie?"

"Dad, what the bloody hell is going on here?"

"Ron…"

"My son has been living in America for the last eight years. I don't know if he is engaged or not but it might be him. He is a Mr. Weasley." Ron explained. "Wait, Ed is engaged and she's been kidnapped to England? Bloody hell…"

"Eddie is engaged?" Asher asked eagerly.

At that moment, an owl came bursting into the Three Broomsticks and dropped a letter into the Head Auror's hands and flew off. The Auror hastily opened the letter and read it quickly before looking at his followers.

"Mr. Weasley is at the Ministry," he explained, "We've confronted the wrong Mr. Weasley. Let's head out then."

"Wait!" Ron said urgently, pushing Teresa out of his way and her swearing loudly. "What is Mr. Weasley's first name?"

"When he moved, he changed his name to Mr. Edward Whesley, but his real name is Mr. Edward Weasley," the Auror explained, then looked back up at Ron. "Is he your son?"

"Yes…" Ron whispered. "May I come with you? I haven't seen him in eight years…"

"If he is your son, we don't see a problem," said the Head Auror. "Come with us." With those words, Ron grabbed both Teresa and Anne, said a hasty good-bye and apology to both Asher and Yvonne, and followed the group of Aurors.

As the Weasleys and the Aurors left the Three Broomsticks, Asher jumped to his feet, his eyes widened.

"Merlin…" he whispered. "Yvonne…Eddie Weasley is back!'

* * *

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" a man, about six foot, with fiery red hair, chestnut eyes, and face load of freckles shouted as she slammed his fist down against Miranda Michael's desk. Miranda Michaels was Head of the Auror Department in the Ministry of Magic. "Why aren't you out there finding my fiancé?"

Miranda couldn't help but notice how this man had a combination of both an American accent and a British accent and it sounded funny to her, but she tried as hard as she could not to laugh at it.

"Mr. Weasley, please," Miranda said softly. "You claimed you wanted the best Auror we can get our hands on. And considering the money you're offering, we're trying to get in touch with someone we have in mind."

"Well where is he?"

"Ed," came a voice from outside the office, near the doorway. The tall man with fiery red hair and freckles eyes slowly widened and he sucked in a deep, nervous breath, recognizing the voice from the doorway. "Son?"

Ed Weasley turned around and faced the man standing in the doorway. Eddie was astonished at how poorly his father, Ron, had aged. His hair, now hardly red, but was graying. Freckles were not the thing that covered his face; but now aging wrinkles from both time and stress had taken over. His warm brown eyes were no longer sparkling and full of joy, but tired, old, worn down by life.

"Hi dad," he said, trying to contain his composure.

"Ed…" Ron whispered, as he dashed forward and embraced his son tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. "Oh, Ed…how could you? How could you abandon us all here? No word from you, no letters, nothing!"

"I'm sorry…I was just busy…" said Eddie, awkwardly. Ron pulled away from Eddie's embrace and slapped him straight across the face.

"Busy? Too busy to write a letter to see if your mother had woken up? I bet you didn't even know your friend, Asher married and his wife is now pregnant with their first child! I bet you don't even know what year your two sisters are in at Hogwarts, or who they are, do you? DO YOU?" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs. Eddie looked down at his feet for a moment, before looking back up at his father, a glaring look in his chestnut eyes.

"I'm not a child anymore, dad," Eddie snapped. "I'm twenty-five years old. I will do as I wish."

"You can do as you wish," Ron said just as angrily. "I just want you to know that your mother would be ashamed of you. I, however, am just disappointed." At this, Eddie rolled his eyes.

"Dad, my fiancé has been kidnapped and I am here to find her, not to be lectured from you!" Eddie snapped before turning back to Miranda. "And about this Auror you promised me? Where is he?"

"Don't you even want to see your sisters? I brought them with me," said Ron. "Teresa, Anne, please come here." Eddie whipped around about to blow up at his father but the sight of the fifteen year old girl and the eleven year old girl before him made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Anne? Teresa?" he asked through a tiny whisper. Both girls nodded. "Where did the time go? You girls are practically women!"

"Not so much Anne here, but I'm almost there," Teresa said coolly, white quietly nudging Anne in a joking manner.

"Oh wow…"

"You're engaged?" Anne asked quietly. "Since when?"

"About a year now," said Eddie. "She's a woman from the state of California; a real American girl, Jane Anderson."

"What a dull name," Teresa said nastily, very resentful towards her brother for pushing her and the rest of the family out of his life.

"Thanks Teresa," Eddie said sarcastically, seeing how his little sister hadn't changed a bit in the course of eight years. "But, she's been kidnapped by dark wizards. In the ransom note they claimed to have taken her to England so here I am! I am here to help this Auror they assign to the case to help me find her. I won't accept anything less than the best."

"And the best is on the way," Miranda said sardonically.

"WHERE IS HE?!?" Eddie snapped.

* * *

An emergency owl had just dropped into her lap. She opened it hastily and read it carefully.

"Bloody hell," she muttered. "I'm going to have to cancel my meeting with the Irish Minister. Dominique, could you take care of that for me?" she asked politely. The woman, known as Dominique, was an enticing elder woman with aging hair, of gold and gray that she kept in a tiny knot at the nape of her neck. Her piercing crystal gray eyes were lined with fine lines that gave an attractive look that only some elder women were able to hold. Dominique took out a tiny notebook and quill and wrote down the instructions, saying it would be no problem whatsoever.

"Is zere a problem at ze Ministry?" another woman at the table, who was sitting beside Dominique, asked. She was just as stunning as Dominique, with aging hair that was silky white that she kept in a loose elegant bun at the top of her head and the same fine lines around her eyes, except her eyes were a bright blue and she wore fancy spectacles around her crystal blue eyes.

"Yeah, apparently they have an emergency Auror assignment…" she mumbled with a sigh. "I'm sorry I have to leave our weekly lunch early today, but-"

"Go sweetie, you 'ave your job to do," said the second beautiful woman. "I understand 'ow demanding it must be."

"Thanks mum," she said kissing both her mother and Dominique on the cheek and grabbing her bag. "I'll see you here again same time next week ladies?"

"Yes indeed," said her mother, smiling. Her daughter took out her wand and Apparated to the Ministry. Dominique looked at the young lady's mother.

"Fleur, every time I see your daughter, ze more and more proud of 'er I get," Dominique said with a smile.

"Trust me, your not ze only one," said Fleur. "Not a day goes by zat I don't regret zrowing 'er out of my life when she was a baby."

"Zankfully she forgave you and 'as zese weekly lunches wiz us," said Dominique, who checked her fancy white gold pocket watch. "We 'ave to be at ze shop in five minutes. Might as well leave now?"

"Yes," said Fleur sitting up, leaving some Galleons on the table. "I'm so 'appy we finally opened zat jewelry shop in Diagon Alley. It keeps us busy and vibrant." Both ladies gave an elegant chuckle and Fleur's comment, pulled out their wands, and Apparated to their jewelry shop; A Veela's Shop, in Diagon Alley.

* * *

A young woman Apparated in front of the Ministry of Magic with her wand clenched in her right hand. She was a beautiful young woman, in her mid-twenties. Her long golden blonde hair fell in layers around her face and to the middle of her back. She was wearing a knee length black skirt with black knee length boots and an emerald green turtleneck sweater, making her almond shaped emerald green eyes stand out vibrantly. Her black robes and blonde hair billowed around her as it was a windy day, making her cheeks rosy.

She entered the building and headed straight to her office, where her student assistant, Jeremiah Reachenburg, was sitting at the front desk, a pile of papers on his desk, looking very disgruntled.

"Good morning Mistress," he said with angry groan.

"Long day Jeremiah?" she asked politely as she picked up some of her papers from his desk. He gave her a sarcastic look, making her chuckle.

"What do you think? You just got elected Mistress of Magic, of course it is a hectic day!" he said in an annoyed voice. She chuckled at his comment.

"You know, it's that kind of attitude that has given this working relationship a lot of spice," she said as she took out her fancy, cat like glasses, put them on, and went through some of the papers. Jeremiah rolled his eyes and continued his work. She looked down at him for a moment and sighed. "Take the week of Jeremiah. I've been called to the Auror Department."

"Auror Department?" he asked incredulously. But, Mistress, you've just been elected Mistress of Magic! You shouldn't be receiving calls and jobs from the Auror Department! You're work is here and trust me, you have tons of it!"

"Jeremiah, they have a complaining man demanding for the best," she said while putting down the papers. "And I am the best so I am doing the job. It is my last one until my term is over."

"Modest I see," Jeremiah grumbled, packing up his suitcase, making her smile to herself. She knew that part of the reason she had hired Jeremiah was because of his dry sense of humor. It kept things amusing in this office, which was always filled with stress and tension. "I'll see you in a week, Mistress."

She smiled and took off her glasses, as she placed the papers back on Jeremiah's desk. "Make sure you lock up my office before you leave," was all she said as she grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door towards the Auror Department. Miranda, her old partner, had said it was urgent so she had agreed to take this one final job.

* * *

"This Auror better be good," Eddie snarled, sitting in front of Miranda's desk. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"She is the best, Mr. Weasley," said Miranda. "She's so good that she was recently elected Mistress of Magic." Eddie's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Wait, wait, wait, the MISTRESS of MAGIC will personally be taking on my fiancé's case?" he asked in shock. Miranda nodded slowly.

"You asked for the best, Mr. Weasley," said Miranda. "She became one of the best Aurors the Ministry has ever seen and was elected as Head of the Auror Department when she was only twenty-two years old. Now, she has been elected one of the youngest Ministers, or Mistresses of Magic, at twenty-five. Passionate about her work, she is."

"Yeah? Who is she?" Eddie asked curiously.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a meeting," came a voice from behind, from the doorway. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. And don't worry, we will find your fiancé." Eddie, recognizing that scratchy voice, whipped around to see a stunning young woman standing in the doorway with long golden blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

"Mr. Weasley, I present to you Miss Lily Potter, Head Auror and Mistress of Magic," said Miranda. "She will be taking on your case to find your fiancé."

Eddie's eyes locked with Lily's for a moment and he fainted.

* * *

A note from the returning Jitterbelle. I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Inspired by that horrible epilogue that JKR left us, I felt I did the same thing and now I realize how horrible it was so I'm continuing my Lily Potter series. I know its not in key with the original series but we'll ignore that shall we? Now we'll know what happens to Lily and Eddie and this is finally be the final story of Lily Julia Potter. And I hope you guys enjoy it. :) Plot and ending is already formed so ENJOY!

Damn if feels good to be writing about my old characters again. I don't know how JKR ended it after so long. I felt nostolgia without Lily, Eddie, Asher, etc.

Well, updating Chapter 1 now. :)


	2. Reunion

**Chapter 1 – Reunion**

"He fainted?" Teresa shrieked with laughter. "You mean he actually fainted?"

"Teresa…" Ron said in a tired voice, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Please…"

"I'm sorry dad, it's just funny," Teresa said, still giggling to herself. "I mean, you usually don't hear about a 6 foot, 25 year old man fainting."

Lily gave a slight grin at the fifteen year old girl standing in front of her. Teresa always made her laugh and she always spoke her mind about anything. In a way, she almost reminded Lily of herself. She stood in the doorway of the hospital room; Eddie's hospital room, leaning against the beam with her arms crossed.

After Eddie had seen Lily and immediately fainted, Miranda got up from her desk and tried to revive Eddie, but he wouldn't move or wake up, so he was taken to the hospital. Lily was in such a state of shock that she hadn't been able to respond to Eddie fainting or him not reviving. After Eddie had been taken to the hospital, Miranda contacted Ron and the girls to tell them what had happened.

"Is he going to be okay, Davanee?" Ron asked wearily. Davanee checked Eddie's pulse before waving her wand and writing something on her clip board.

"He'll be fine, Ron," said Davanee, a small smile on her face. "He's just in a state of shock. I don't blame him after not seeing Lily after all these years and seeing her as the Mistress of Magic is bound to shock anyone."

"Especially since Eddie fell in love with her and everything and then like an idiot went and-"

"That will be enough Terry," Lily said in a warning tone, but still using Teresa's pet name to show that she was not angry. Ever since Hermione went into that coma, Teresa and Anne had both taken Lily on as their role model, being the only active woman in their life; besides Davanee. But, unfortunately, Teresa found Davanee extremely bubbly and annoying so Lily had become her idol.

"Sorry," Teresa mumbled. Lily was the only one who had the power to control Teresa's mouth. "Too awkward?"

"Just a bit," Lily said bemused, with a slight grin on her face. She then turned back to Davanee. "There isn't anyway of reviving him immediately? I'd really like to finish this case as soon as possible and get back to my duties as Mistress of Magic."

"I mean, we could use a potion but it's best to…"

"Then use a potion," Lily said firmly. "I want to have this case over and done with"

"Lily," started Ron, "isn't this case going to be a bit awkward for you? I mean, considering your past with Eddie. Looking for his kidnapped fiancé? Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course I don't want to do this!" Lily snapped, forgetting that she was talking to her godfather. "Part of me wants to just revive him so he can decide that he doesn't want me on the case and we can go back to the way we were!"

"Pretending that you both don't exist to each other?" Anne asked quietly.

"Exactly," Lily said in exasperated voice.

"Not a fun way to act and treat your former lover," Teresa said with a sigh. Both Lily and Ron turned to glare at her as Lily went scarlet in the face. Teresa's big eyes widened for a moment as she stared at the two. "Awkward comment again? Okay, I just won't talk anymore."

"Brilliant idea," came a groan from the bed. Lily's heart began pounding against her ribcage. Eddie's eyes fluttered open and he sat up slightly. "And that's not true Lily. I was told you were the best for the assignment and I only want the best to find Jane. You and me are going to have to put our past behind and work past this."

"Well, unlike some, it's rather hard for me to just simply 'put the past behind me.' I just don't throw away everyone that means something to me and not contact them in years," said Lily, coolly. "For some reason, it's not as easy for me as it is for others."

"Shut your mouth, Potter," Eddie growled, sitting up all the way. "I did what I had to do! And you'll be well-paid for this case."

"I'm sure I will be," Lily snarled coolly. "Send me an owl when you've been admitted out of this hospital. Unlike some, I can handle a good shock and not be hospitalized." With a billow of her cloak, she turned and stormed out of the room. Teresa's mouth dropped as she stared at Lily in awe.

"Wow, Ed," she said, "Lily one, Ed zero."

"Shut-up!" Eddie snapped again before rolling over in his bed.

"Is that your only comeback?" Teresa teased. Eddie rolled his eyes and tossed his pillow in the direction of her voice.

* * *

Eddie was following a young man to Lily's office where no doubt, Lily would start working on his fiancé's case. The young man looked grumpy, and had a sarcastic comment to everything Eddie had said. It did not shock Eddie to know that Lily had hired this young man as her secretary. The reached an office with the letters "Lily Julia Potter, Mistress of Magic," on the door, sparkling and the young man knocked. Eddie heard Lily's familiar scratchy voice mumble, "Come in," and they entered.

"Mr. Weasley here to see you," he said in a bored voice. Eddie walked in to see Lily sitting behind an abnormally large desk completely covered in files, folders, and papers. She had on her cat-like glasses and looked completely distressed and exhausted.

"Thank you, Jeremiah," Lily said hastily. "Just file the paperwork on the Bundlement case and you can go home."

"How kind of you Mistress," he said dryly with a false grin on his face. He closed the door behind Eddie and left. Eddie watched him close the door and turned back to Lily.

"Bad time?"

"No, its fine," she said hastily. "I just got elected Mistress of Magic so I'm closing up some final cases as Auror, is all."

"And opening mine?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily looked up at him, leaned back in her chair, took off her glasses and threw them on the desk.

"You wanted the best, Ed," she said simply, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "And not to sound arrogant, but I am considered the best."

"But what about your duties as Mistress?"

"Being Mistress has its advantages," Lily said with a slight grin," and so does having a good fair amount of assistants. Why are you even arguing? You're getting what you're paying for, aren't you?" Eddie nodded and wanted to laugh but bite his lip stubbornly as he stared at Lily as she cleaned out her desk. Some things just did not change.

"Alright," Lily said, taking out a fresh folder and putting her glasses back on, "please Ed, sit down."

Eddie obeyed and sat down in the chair that rested in front of Lily's massive desk. As she filled out some work, Eddie snuck glances at all of the moving pictures on her desk; five of them caught his interest. One was of she and Harry Potter when she was a child; resting on his knee as he bounced her up and down as the baby Lily giggled in delight. The other was of Lily and Asher; Asher was seen wearing a fancy tuxedo and Lily was wearing a long, fancy, baby blue gown. Eddie assumed that had been taken on Asher's wedding day as Yvonne could be seen wearing a wedding dress in the background. The third picture was a picture of Lily and two of the most stunning elderly women Eddie had ever seen, sitting on a bench, smiling at each other. Eddie recognized them as Fleur Delacour and Dominique Delinor. The fourth picture was of Lily and Eddie's little sisters; Teresa and Anne playing Qudditch. But, the fifth, the fifth was what intrigued Eddie the most. It was a picture of Lily, at about fourteen years old, wearing her Hogwarts robes and on her right stood a tall, pretty black girl; Eddie recognized her as their late friend, Robyn Andrews. On Robyn's other side was Asher and on Lily's left stood himself, smiling brightly and his hand rested on Lily's shoulder. Eddie's stomach did a lurch when he saw the picture and was pulled out of his thoughts at Lily's sigh.

"Okay, first, tell me what happened," Lily said, looking at Eddie square in the eye. Eddie was astounded at her intently she was gazing at him, like nothing serious had ever happened between them. He could not believe she was being so nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Erm…well…my fiancé is name is Jane Anderson," Eddie explained. "We've been seeing each other for about 2 years and living together for 6 months."

Lily waved her wand and her quill began writing the notes on it's own as Lily listened intently. Eddie raised his eyebrow at the quill.

"Is she a witch or Muggle?"

"Muggle," Eddie said with hesitation. Lily looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Does she know that you are a wizard?" Lily asked, the quill continuing to make notes on what was being discussed.

"Erm…no…" Eddie said slowly, with much hesitation. "I gave up magic about a year ago. I've only recently used it to get back here. She has no idea." Eddie chanced a look at Lily and saw nothing. Lily just stared at him, no emotion on her lips and her eyes completely impassive. For a moment, she just stared, said nothing before continuing her questioning.

"So, you've been living as a Muggle for the past year?" Lily asked, looking very disbelieving.

"Yes," Eddie said uncertainly.

"Then why are you here?" Lily asked, almost angrily. "How do you even know she was kidnapped by wizards and not Muggles?"

"By this ransom note," Eddie said, taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to Lily. Lily narrowed her eyes at it for a moment before snatching it out of Eddie's hands. She put her glasses back on as her emerald eyes scanned the page.

"As you can see," started Eddie, "whoever sent this is a wizard. The letter threatens to take her here, to England, mentions Cruciatus Curse, and was sent by owl. It only makes sense that a witch or wizard did this."

Lily continued to the read the ransom note, her eyebrows furrowing and her lips pursed. She scratched her chin and the quill was scribbling away furiously, as though writing what she was thinking. Finally, Lily took a deep breath and put the note back down before nodding her head, encouraging Eddie to continue.

"Jane went to run some errands one afternoon, claiming she'd be home by dinner," Eddie explained. "But, she never came back, and I called the Muggle police. But it was later that night, at midnight, that jet-black owl came and dropped this note into my lap. I immediately Apparated here and demanded the best Auror to find my fiancé."

"And that's it?"

"That is it," said Eddie, raising an eyebrow at Lily's disbelieving, nonchalant attitude. Lily leaned back in her chair, and the quill was scribbling things down faster than ever.

It was a long pause before Lily finally spoke; "This all seems very suspicious, Ed."

"Suspicious?"

"I don't understand why a group of wizards or witches would kidnap an innocent Muggle," said Lily, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Unless they knew you were a wizard. Did you ever have a grudge with anyone at the University?"

"No," said Eddie, "I dropped out after one year."

"What?" Lily asked incredulously, her eyes widening. It was a great dishonor to drop out of the university, especially since it was very difficult to get in. And the fact that Eddie just gave up? There had to be a reason. Lily knew Eddie, and he never gave up on anything. But, in reality, Eddie left and gave up on everything, and to be extremely honest, Lily was not sure if she even really knew her best friend anymore.

"It wasn't for me," Eddie explained with a shrug, not meeting her eyes.

"It seems like the wizarding world in general wasn't for you," Lily said coolly, her quill stopping for a moment, and then quickly returning to scribbling everything down. Eddie glared at her but decided to ignore her comment. "In the one year you were at the University, you didn't make any enemies? No one holds any grudges against you?"

"Well, there's always someone who doesn't like you," Eddie said reasonably, "but I didn't have a disdain for anyone like I did for someone like Daris Malfoy." Lily nodded and the quill scribbled furiously.

"Does anyone have anything against you in general?" Lily asked. "Can you think of anyone who would want to do this to your fiancé?"

"Why do you think it's me?" Eddie asked with a snarl, clenching his fists, giving his former friend a dirty look. "Maybe someone had a grudge against Jane and that is why the kidnapped her."

"Now that wouldn't make any sense," said Lily reasonably, raising a cool eyebrow at Eddie. "Why would any witch or wizard want to take a Muggle hostage and then send you the ransom note? It makes more sense that someone was doing it to get to you."

"Oh," Eddie mumbled stupidly, "right." Lily grinned inwardly. For some reason it gave her great satisfaction knowing that she was right about something and Eddie was wrong. She gave him a slight smirk before turning back to her quill. "No, I can't think of anyone would want to get back at me for this. I went to school in Salem; after I dropped out I went to New York City, all the way across the country. No one in New York even knows that I am a wizard."

"I see," said Lily, biting her lip uncertainly. There was a long, awkward pause as she stared at Eddie intently, biting her lip and rubbing her chin as he just stared at his large hands resting in his lap. Noticing the tension, Lily waved her wand; two glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey floated towards her desk. Lily poured a generous amount in both glasses and handed one to Eddie. He graciously accepted it and took a large swig. Lily sipped hers slowly, looking like she was contemplating something.

"Lily?" Eddie asked unsurely. Lily nodded her head to show that she was listening, but did not make eye contact with him. "Do you think that someone from around here might have found me living in New York and kidnapped Jane? Maybe it was someone from the war?" Lily sighed and placed her firewhiskey on her desk. Eddie took another large gulp.

"It's possible," Lily said reasonably, refusing to make eye contact. "I was thinking along the same lines. But who did you anger that much during the war that they'd want to track you down all the way to New York and kidnap your fiancé?"

"Maybe someone from Hogwarts? Like Daris Malfoy? Raven Dawsetta?" Eddie asked, finishing off his firewhiskey.

"Neither of them hated you that much," Lily said, still not looking at him. "It had to be someone who really hated you…" There was another long pause before Lily waved her wand again and the quill finally stopped writing. She finally met Eddie's gaze. "I need a physical description of your fiancé."

"Um…tall…about 5'8, 120 lbs," Eddie, thinking. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Does she eat or is she anorexic?" Lily mumbled sarcastically. Eddie clenched his teeth in anger, but once again, chose to ignore Lily.

"Short brown hair, fair skin, blue eyes, pointed nose," Eddie said, listing off Jane's physical traits. Lily used her wand to try and draw a sketch. When that was done, she raised from her desk and sighed.

"Well Ed," she started, "I'll start the investigation immediately but for now, I need to know where I can find you, in case I need to send you an owl or to update you on how the search is going."

"Send me and owl?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Update me on the search? There will be no need for that Lily. I'm going with you."

"I beg your pardon?" Lily asked incredulously, setting her firewhiskey down on the desk, taking off her glasses, narrowing her eyes at her former friend. "Mind repeating that?"

"Are you deaf?" Eddie asked angrily, getting to his feet and staring Lily down. "I said I'm going with you!" Lily continued to glare firmly at him and also got to her feet and leaned over the desk. She was nearly a foot shorter than Eddie, but he had never seen Lily look so terrifying. He was strongly reminded of his grandmother, Molly Weasley.

"I work alone," was all Lily snarled before waving her wand, her belongings all slamming shut. Eddie opened his mouth to retort, but Lily interrupted him before he could even say anything; "Besides, you have been living as a Muggle for the last year. Why start wizardry now?" Lily gathered her things and with a billow of her black cloak, started out the door.

"This isn't over, Potter," Eddie snapped, as Lily walked out of the office. "I'll be joining you on this case. You can count on it. This involves my fiancé and I'll do anything for her!"

At those words, Lily stopped dead in her tracks. Eddie stared at her back wide-eyed, curious to her reaction. But she said and did nothing, only clenched her fist tightly and taking a heavy, shaky breath. For a moment, Eddie was sure she was just going to leave but instead, turned on her heel and Eddie gasped at the look in her eyes; they were blazing, like an emerald green fire and he knew that only happened when she was about to use the power of Gryffindor; Eyeluta. Eyeluta was an extreme power at attack others with one's eyes, inherited by only Gryffindor heirs with emerald green years, given to Godric Gryffindor by Merlin himself! Eddie gasped at the fire blazing in her eyes, but she ignored him and stared at him furiously.

"Fine, Ed," she snarled, "you want to come? You'll come. But, if you interfere with my investigation at all, I'll make sure you never perform magic again." Eddie noticed her fingering her wand and he had never heard such venom in Lily's voice, never saw such hatred and contempt in her eyes. The only time he ever heard her talk and look like this is when she faced Voldemort. He never imagined she'd look at him like that.

"Do I make myself clear?" Lily asked in that same snarl, her emerald fires still burning rapidly. Eddie nodded and gulped.

"Crystal."

And with a swish of her cloak, Lily was gone.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle. This is Chapter 1...I am working on Chapter 2 as we speak so I should have it updated within a few days. I hope you're enjoying the tension between Lily and Eddie but I assure you, it only gets worse. ;) 


	3. The Investigation Begins

**Chapter 2 – The Investigation Begins:**

Eddie looked up at the sign that read, _The Leaky Cauldron_ and sighed deeply, debating on whether he should walk in or not. He doubted anyone would recognize him, except for maybe his hair. It was moments like these that he wished he was a Metamorphis so he could change his hair color.

Kicking in his Gryffindor courage, he dragged his large feet towards the building and pulled open the door. Eddie expected to be disappointed but instead, he felt at peace; the place had not changed a bit. He smiled when he saw Tom standing behind the bar, aging like wine and dragged his lightweight bag towards the bar.

"Hello Tom," Eddie said with a small smile. The old man looked up at him and beamed.

"I'm not going to even try to guess which Weasley you are," he said with a chuckle. "I've lost track of all of you after all of these years!" Eddie grinned and nodded politely, a wave of relief washing over him, realizing that Tom did not fully recognize him.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Weasley?" Tom asked graciously.

"An order of a cheeseburger, fries, a water, and a firewhiskey" Eddie said, sitting down at the bar. "And one room."

"You got it," said Tom as he poured the glass of firewhiskey and another of water and ran into the back. Eddie took a swig of the firewhiskey and sighed as the peppery substance tickled the back of his throat, going through his veins, and felt himself relax. At that moment, a little house elf came running to the counter and placed his burger and fries in front of him before hopping away. Eddie chuckled and immediately dived into his food. He felt like he had not eaten in days.

After he had eaten his meal and paid Tom for his dinner and room, Eddie grabbed his belongings and headed upstairs to his room. It was just like all of the other rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, and he took in everything; the sights, the smells, the feeling. It all seemed so welcoming to him; it felt like home.

Ron had offered to let him stay for as long as he needed at the Windum but Eddie did not want the tension between him, his father, and his sisters. He knew Teresa would never leave him alone for abandoning them and he hated the sad, disappointed look Anne gave him every time their eyes met. It saddened him that he did not even know his youngest sister. In reality, he hardly knew Teresa either. Eddie felt a hole inside of him, as though something was missing. Eddie sighed, as he leaned against the window, almost wishing he had taken his father's offer. But, he could not. He just could not. Lily was there on a daily basis.

The real reason he did not stay at the Windum was Lily. Eddie actually did consider Ron's offer, but before he did, he asked if Lily lived at the Windum with the Weasley family to help take care of Teresa and Anne. Eddie had learned that Lily lived in her own flat in London, but visited them on a daily basis. In fact, Lily was coming over for dinner after work that evening. That was when Eddie decided it would be best to get a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

'You might as well have taken the offer,' Eddie thought to himself. 'You're going to see Lily on a daily basis anyway during this case.' For a moment, Eddie felt a shudder of giddiness at the thought of spending time with Lily, but it came and went so quickly, Eddie was sure he imagined it. He was in love with Jane. He was getting married to Jane in six months. That is, if they found her safe and sound. But, he knew Lily would find her. He always trusted Lily.

'But she certainly doesn't trust you,' a nasty voice said in his head, making him sigh and bury his face in his hands as he rubbed his face in frustration. Frankly, he could not blame Lily for not trusting him. He promised to love her forever, to be there for her no matter what, and even had every intention on marrying her. But, they got pregnant when they were only seventeen years old, and Lily had had a miscarriage during the final battle with Voldemort. However, it had been the pregnancy that saved Lily's life and why she defeated the darkest wizard of all time.

He never understood why the miscarriage affected him so much. But, when he almost lost Lily, found out she was pregnant, than lost the baby, he felt strange and just wanted to be anywhere but where he was. So, he left for the United States of America and never came back, never contacted anyone, and changed his name to Edward Whesley. He met Jane when he bumped into her in a local grocery store and fell for her immediately. But, she was nothing like Lily with short, brown hair cut like a bobby cut, pale blue eyes, a pretty face, very thin, and quite tall. Jane was also shy, quiet, and preferred to take a backseat in most cases. Eddie never particularly liked that trait about her but no one was perfect.

Eddie felt strange comparing Lily and Jane; what did he see in Jane that he did not see in Lily? He and Lily had a history; a history unlike any other and it felt weird to be in a relationship with Jane without the history. But, in a way it was better because it left out a lot of the drama, but didn't the drama make it all worth it in the end? Eddie shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He needed to stop this; comparing Lily and Jane. He had not thought of Lily since he had met Jane and just because he had seen her; that should not change anything.

"Stop this!" Eddie yelled at himself, gripping his flaming red hair and began mumbling to himself. "Your fiancé was just kidnapped! What is wrong with you? Stop acting like a sick jerk!" With that, Eddie went to sleep worrying and thinking nothing but about Jane's well-being.

What Eddie did not know was that he was lying to himself. He liked to think he never thought of Lily ever since he met Jane, but the truth was, every night when he went to sleep, he would think of Jane's pretty smile. In his dreams, he would dream of a set of piercing emerald green eyes, the emerald depths looking at him with the love they used to look at him with. And this night was no different than any other night because if someone looked into the window of his room at the Leaky Cauldron, one would see him smile in his sleep as he dreamed of those fiery green eyes.

* * *

"That was great, Ron," Lily said with a smile, patting her stomach, leaning back in her chair "Thanks for inviting me."

"Lil, why do you 'thank you' every time you come here?" Teresa asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you practically live here anyway…." Lily laughed as Ron gave his eldest daughter a stern look.

"It's called good manners, Teresa," Ron said sternly. Teresa rolled her eyes and Lily winked at her as she waved her wand and the dishes all flew to the sink and began to wash themselves. "But she's right, Lily, there really is no need thank us every time you come over here. It really is a complete waste of breath."

Lily, Teresa, and Anne all let out a chuckle and Lily sighed, "Well you girls better get upstairs. Your dad and I need to discuss some things." Teresa rolled her eyes again and helped Anne out of her seat. Teresa always had an overprotective side over little Annie, especially after Hermione went into that coma; the same way Lily was overprotective of Teresa.

"See Annie, that's code for 'we need to discuss about Eddie coming back and Lily taking his case and making things-"

"Teresa!" Ron and Lily yelled in unison. Teresa held up her hands in defense, her chestnut eyes going wide. Lily noticed Ron stared at her eyes weirdly for a moment, but turning away quickly. Anne giggled as she followed Teresa up the stairs. Lily checked the top of the stairs to make sure they were not listening and turned back to Ron. Lily sighed and looked at her godfather's cold, dead blue eyes. Those usual twinkling blue eyes glistening with mischief and humor had been dead to the world ever since Hermione went into her coma.

"You okay?" Lily asked, sitting down in the kitchen table beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I saw you look into Teresa's eyes. You looked…well…sad…"

"You ever notice how Teresa's eyes are so much like Hermione's?" Ron asked, his voice shaking. Lily bit her lip and squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah," she answered honestly, "Eddie had those same chestnut eyes. Anne was the one who was blessed with those blue specs." Ron smiled softly and looked at his goddaughter.

"I suppose when we look into Teresa's eyes, we both are reminded of someone we fell in love with," Ron said with a lop-sided grin. Lily removed her hand from Ron's shoulder and looked away, a nasty look in her eyes.

"Maybe you see that," Lily whispered angrily, her hand curling into a tight fist, "but I sure in bloody hell don't."

"Lily…"

"Ron, I know what you're going to say," said Lily, holding up her hand to stop him from speaking.

"Lily, I love my son," Ron said, ignoring Lily's request to let it go. "But, despite the fact that he is my son, he broke a lot of people's hearts. I've never been more disappointed in someone in my life.

"I know you loved him and don't say you didn't," Ron said quickly as Lily opened her mouth to retort, "because I know you did."

"So, what are you trying to say?" Lily snapped impatiently. Ron smiled inwardly.

"I'm saying that I do not want you to take this case," said Ron, "and I don't want Eddie going with you." What Lily expected Ron to say, it was not that. She stared at Ron for a moment and blinked numerous times and only managed to say one thing;

"What?"

"I don't want you to take Eddie's case," repeated Ron. "You're the Mistress of Magic. Put another Auror on the assignment."

"But, why?"

"Lily, you were a mess after Eddie abandoned us all," said Ron softly. "It tore you up. I saw it in your eyes. And now when you're finally about to fully recover; he comes storming back into your life. It's not fair to you."

"Ron, this is not a relationship," Lily said firmly. "It's purely business."

"You're Mistress of Magic!" Ron said desperately. "Surely you can-"

"That's right, Ron," Lily said, standing up and pulling out her wand. "I am Mistress of Magic and yes, I could put another Auror on the case but I am not going to. This is my case and just because it happens to deal with my ex-boyfriend should not make a difference! I said in my oath I would help any witch or wizard and Eddie is just another wizard."

Ron just looked at his goddaughter and studied her for a moment, seeing how much like Harry she really was. It made him miss Harry and Hermione and how the three of them used to be even more so. He ignored the lump developing in his throat and patted Lily's cheek roughly and gently at the same time.

"I'm proud of you Lily Potter," he said pressing his forehead against her's affectionately. Lily smiled and turned to Apparate home, but before she could, Ron spoke up again.

"Lily, why are you taking this case?" Ron asked seriously. Lily just stared at him, her heart beginning to pound loudly in her chest. She was sure that Ron would be able to hear it. "It's not because you still have feelings for him is it?"

"No, of course not," Lily answered quickly. "I could never have feelings for someone who did what he did to me."

"Then why are you taking the case, Lil?"

There was a long pause and Lily stared at Ron for a moment, then at her hands, and then suddenly became very interested in her feet. Finally, she looked back at her godfather and he saw the determination, the walls she had put up to prevent herself from Eddie hurting her again.

"I don't know," was all she said. "It just feels right."

"I still don't approve of it," Ron said softly, knowing perfectly well that Lily would not take his advice.

"I know," Lily whispered, "but it's my decision." With that, Ron nodded softly, sighing to himself, still realizing how Lily was so much like Harry; the stubbornness, the determination, the courage, and the will to do the right thing. And with that, he watched Lily Apparate back to her flat in London and he went upstairs to get his two daughters into their beds and to sleep.

* * *

_Knock, knock!_

Eddie buried his face into his pillow and groaned loudly, hoping whoever was knocking on the door would go away. But, he was wrong.

_Knock, knock!_

"Go away!" Eddie screamed at the door, wrapping his sheets and blankets tight around him and snuggling deep into the mattress, thinking the annoying knocker had gone away.

"Stupefy!"

The door bursted open and Eddie screamed, grabbing his wand from the night stand and pointing it at the door, only to see Lily grinning and with her wand pointed outward at the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

"Bloody hell Potter," Eddie growled, burying his face back into the pillow and throwing his wand to the side of the bed. He quickly looked at his watch. "It's 6am in the morning!"

"I'm fully aware of what time it is, Weasley," Lily said coolly, kicking the door out of her way as she stepped into the room. Eddie sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked at the mess she had made and groaned.

"Why did you stun the door open?" he asked grumpily, throwing his blankets off him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "You could have just kept knocking and said it was you." Eddie looked up to see Lily smirking in her cocky smirk.

"I'm Mistress of Magic," Lily said smugly. "I can do as I please. And you weren't responding to my knocks so I decided to make sure you'd get up and get the picture that I'm not playing games. You said you wanted to join me on the investigation, so you'll play by my rules. Understood?"

Eddie muttered unpleasant words about Lily under his breath as she waved her wand to fix the door she had blasted off the hinges a few moments ago.

"Get changed," Lily ordered as she began walking out the door. "Our investigation begins right now. Meet me downstairs with all of your belongings in ten minutes."

"Where are we going?" Eddie asked curiously, rubbing his already messy, bushy red hair. Lily fought back a laugh at the messy state his hair was in and just bit her lip instead.

"Downstairs, ten minutes," was all Lily said. "I don't discuss things out in the open for everyone to hear." Lily closed the door behind her and Apparated downstairs. Eddie made a rude face at her retreating back and sat up to change and pack.

When Eddie got downstairs with his belongings, he saw Lily sitting at a small table by the window of the pub, sipping a cup of tea, a plate of eggs and sausage in front of her. Eddie frowned and dragged his belongings towards the table and plopped down in the seat in front of Lily. She had her cat-like glasses on and was reading off a clipboard, her magical once again writing furiously as she scratched her chin.

"How'd you know where I was staying?" Eddie asked curiously as took one of the sausages off Lily's plate and began to eat it. Lily did not move or look at him.

"Where else would you be staying?" Lily said knowingly. "By the way Ed, we are investigating now and will be going under false names. From now on you'll check in and introduce yourself as Ed Jinxins. I'm known as Lisa Prongs."

"Fair enough," Ed mumbled as he grabbed Lily's fork and began eating the eggs. She still had not even looked up at him. "So, why are we up so early?"

"You are interested in finding your fiancé, aren't you?" Lily asked, finally looking up at him, looking over the rim of her cat-like classes and raising an obvious eyebrow.

"Of course I am!"

"Then we need to start as early and as soon as possible," Lily said as she packed up her things into a tiny beaded bag Eddie recognized as his mother's. She always used that bag on vacations or when Ron and Harry needed to borrow it for their Auror missions. Lily caught him staring intently at the back and sighed.

"Yes, this is your mum's," Lily said a toneless voice.

"How did you get it?"

"It was inherited to me through her will," Lily explained, taking all of Eddie's belongings and placing them into the famous beaded bag. Eddie just stared at her and his eyes narrowed.

"She isn't dead," he growled, "why did you get your inheritances?"

"Your father gave it to me when I graduated from the Auror department," Lily snapped. "He said it would come in handy and it did. According to him, Hermione had planned on giving it to me anyway so what difference does it make?"

Lily finished placing all of Eddie's bags into the beaded back and pulled out some money for the breakfast she did not eat and stood up. "Are you ready?" she asked and Eddie nodded, still glaring at her.

"Why didn't I get my inheritances?" he asked, following Lily out of the pub as she looked around and pulled out a compass.

"Well considering you disappeared without a trace, it was quite difficult to track you down. You never answered any of our letters or anything," Lily said as though the answer was quite obvious. Eddie knew she was right and did not respond, knowing he did not have much of comeback so he just silently followed her through London. Finally, Lily stopped short, still studying the compass.

"What is that?" Eddie asked curiously.

"It has the same idea as a Sneakoscope, it points to anyone untrustworthy nearby," Lily explained.

"How do you know if it is not pointing to anyone?"

"The arrow disappears," Lily said briskly, pocketing the compass and headed down a small, dirty alley, looking around for something. Eddie just stood there, not a clue to what she was doing or what was going on. In a way, Eddie felt like a fool and grinded his teeth in annoyance.

"Ah ha!" Lily said in triumph as she levitated a fresh-looking banana from a nearby trash can. "You ready?" she asked, looking at Eddie impatiently.

"What is it?" Eddie asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. Lily rolled her eyes and mumbled something about an 'idiot' under her breath.

"It's a Portkey," Lily said slowly, as though talking to a five year old. Eddie gritted his teeth but chose to ignore her attitude.

"Where is it taking us?"

"Just grab it and you'll find out," Lily mumbled, still levitating the banana. "On the count of three, okay?"

"Fine."

"One…two…three!"

Both Lily and Eddie grabbed a hold of the banana and felt a heavy pull at their feet as they were transported to an unknown land. It was so unsual for him, as he had not done it in years. Eddie felt a blur of colors and weight spread around him. Lily seemed unfathomed by it. He figured she must travel by Portkey on a daily basis. Eddie just did not understand why they did not just Apparate to where ever it was that they were heading.

The Portkey travel actually took several minutes before Lily and Eddie landed on cool grass with a loud thud. Lily felt the grass tickle her nose and she sneezed and opened her eyes. She smiled; she was exactly were she wanted to land. Miranda never let her down and set up the perfect Portkey. Eddie groaned, rubbed his back, and stood up before taking a look around, stretching his back in the meanwhile.

"Where are we?"

"Damn, you think you'd recognize your own home, wouldn't you?" Lily asked dryly, levitating the banana and placing it in the beaded bag. "We're in Central Park, New York City."

"What in the hell are we doing here?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"It was never a wonder why you didn't become an Auror," Lily said sarcastically. "All of your questions are getting really irritating. We're where the crime happened. In order to find Jane, we need to start where it all began; where it all took place. She was kidnapped here, this is where we'll find our first clue."

"Oh," was all Eddie mumbled dumbly. "Why Central Park?"

"There is a lot of people around," said Lily, swinging the beaded bag over her shoulder and took a look around. "No one would notice two people appear out of nowhere."

"Good call," Eddie said approvingly, nodding and taking a look around. Many people were taking their early morning jogs and taxis were driving by to pick up people who needed to get to work. No one noticed Lily and Eddie pop out of nowhere.

"While you're here, you'll need to speak in your American accent," Lily explained. "We can't let anyone let on to what we're up to or what we're looking for." Eddie nodded in understanding.

"What about you?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Won't your accent give your away?"

"I took Muggle language and accent classes," Lily explained waving her wand and her pad came flying out and it started scribbling again. "I figured it was better to cover yourself up by learning the languages and no one suspecting you."

"That's brilliant Lils!"

Lily's eyes widened and they blazed at Eddie when he used his old nickname for her. He could not tell whether she was more angry or embarrassed and immediately decided to correct himself.

"I'm mean…Lily," Eddie stammered, his ears going bright red. Lily still looked at him wide-eyed.

"Yeah…I made those classes a requirement in Auror training when I became Head of the Auror Department," Lily explained, still looking at him strangely before going through her notes which held her earlier interview with Eddie. "The ransom note was sent to you, correct?" Lily asked, her eyes squinting into the sunlight. Eddie nodded and she bit her lip.

"Where do you reckon we should start?" Eddie asked uncertainly. Lily thought for a moment, her eyes still narrowed and still biting her lip. She nodded to herself and waved her wand at Eddie, who felt his body tingle. He looked down to see the old gray robes he had been wearing turn into jeans, sneakers, and a gray hooded sweatshirt. Lily did the same and the silver robes she was wearing turned into sneakers, jeans, a white T-shirt, and emerald green zip-up.

"What's with new wardrobe?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you live in a Muggle building, don't you?" Lily asked slowly.

"Yes…"

"Don't you think it'd be suspicious if we were wearing robes, especially if whoever kidnapped your fiancé. They obviously have been following you and Jane for quite some time and know you're a wizard," explained Lily. "It'll be extremely obvious if we show up wearing robes. It'll look less…strange if we're wearing Muggle clothing, right?"

"When did you get so brilliant?" Eddie said, smiling down at Lily proudly. Lily smiled sheepishly, without Eddie realizing and told him to direct her to his and Jane's apartment.

The walk to the apartment was the longest, more awkward walk of her Lily. The tension was so thick that one could cut it with a butter knife as the two of them walked through the streets of New York City.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle. Here's another chapter. I'm really enjoying writing about these characters again. I know this is starting off slow but I promise you it'll get good in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review and most importantly, ENJOY!!!!!!


	4. The First Clue

Chapter 3 – The First Clue:

Lily and Eddie were both standing outside the apartment building in which Eddie and Jane lived. Lily had never seen anything like it, and stared at it wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open.

"Bloody hell," she whispered, more to herself than to Eddie. "Amazing with these Muggles can do without magic. Skyscrapers, pyramids…" Her voice trailed off and just smiled, slipping her sunglasses back on to her faces. On the way to the apartment building, Lily had transfigured to large stones into a baseball cap and sunglasses. She thought it would be best to try and hide their most distinguishing features, and in this case, it was Eddie's hair and her eyes.

"Shall we go in?" Eddie asked uncertainly, gesturing towards the building. Lily nodded and looked at him sternly.

"I'm your cousin, visiting from another state. A far one," Lily said. Eddie chuckled and patted her on the shoulder gently.

"Don't worry, Potter," he said good-naturedly, an amused smile on his face. "I know just what to say."

"Yeah, you were always pretty good at lying," Lily snarled coolly, causing Eddie's smile to immediately falter and his warm chestnut eyes become cold and they narrowed. His jaw was set as he glared dangerously at Lily, who ignored him and walked into the building. Eddie glared at her back and followed her, his fists clenched tightly.

Lily had taken off her sunglasses and placed them at the top of her head and looked around at the building. Eddie went to the desk and smiled at the elder man sitting behind it.

"Hey Ryan," he said with a lop-sided grin that made him look remarkably like Ron. Lily stood tentatively behind him as the elder, balding man with a heart shaped face, and a missing tooth looked up at him.

"Mr. Whesley!" he said with a beaming smile. "We have not seen you nor Miss Anderson for a few days now. Did you go on vacation?"

"No, Jane went on a business trip for a few weeks and I was visiting some family in Minnesota," Eddie said with a smile. "In fact, one of my cousins will be staying with me for the new few weeks. Ryan, this is my cousin, Lisa Prongs." As he turned to look at Lily for a moment, frowned, but when he turned back to Ryan, the smile was back on his freckled face. Lily raised an eyebrow but smiled at Ryan and held out her hand.

"Great to meet you, Ryan," Lily said with her best American accent. Eddie raised an impressed eyebrow but neither Lily nor Ryan noticed.

"Pleasure to meet you too Lisa," he said, taking her hand and kissing it tenderly, looking at Lily with a certain passion that Eddie recognized all too well and he rolled his eyes because of it. It was the veela in Lily kicking in again. Lily was part veela, giving her a power to attract and seduce men, and the worst part about it, it was completely out of her control.

"Well, Ryan, it was good seeing you," Eddie said hastily, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her away from the front desk, not liking the look that Ryan was giving his former friend; and his former girlfriend. Ryan's old hazel eyes eyeing Lily up and down made Eddie want to dive across the desk and strangle him with his bare hands. So, instead, he just grabbed Lily's hand possessively and ran to the elevator, dragging her behind him. Eddie did not know where the jealousy and possessiveness came from but it did not come unwelcome. He chose to ignore it instead.

"Ed?" Lily's voice called out tentatively from beside him in the elevator.

"What?" he mumbled still frustrated over Ryan's rude stare and Jane's disappearance.

"Umm…you can let go of my hand now," Lily said in a slow, awkward voice. Eddie looked down and saw that he still had Lily's hand clenched tightly in his. He felt all his blood rush to his face and let her hand go as though it was infected with some contagious disease. There was absolute silence as the two of them headed up to the twenty seventh floor and with a ding of the elevator, both ran out of it, dying to get away from the tension was floating around the two of them. Eddie led the way to his and Jane's apartment, taking out the key and placing it into its lock.

"Why are we here?" Eddie asked, ready to open the door.

"I'm an Auror for a reason, Ed," she said softly. "This is where we need to start." Eddie nodded, pushed open the door, and flicked on the lights. Eddie stiffened at the sight as Lily barged in from behind him and looked at the sight of the apartment, wide-eyed. The living room was wrecked and the couch was toppled over and the love seat was moved from its spot. In the kitchen, glass was shattered everywhere from the china and glasses. Eddie did not dare to think what his bedroom looked like. Someone had definitely been there and had completely ransacked the apartment.

"Lily? What…?"

"I told you," whispered Lily, looking around. Eddie noticed that she had pulled her wand out and it had it at the ready. He followed the maneuvers and she held up her hand. "You're a citizen, Ed. Put the wand away. I'll search the apartment."

"Excuse me?" Eddie asked incredulously. "Who the bloody hell are you?"

"Someone who is the Mistress of Magic and head of this investigation," Lily said coolly. "I am also someone who is about three seconds from ditching you and solving it on her own." Eddie glared at Lily but said nothing, knowing she was at full power to do just as she threatened. Lily was now searching the apartment, her wand at the ready and her eyes narrowed, ready to strike. Eddie lowered his wand, but did not put it away, just in case something snuck up on her.

When Lily disappeared down the hall, Eddie raised his wand again and trudged through the rubble of his apartment, not believing his eyes. Before he could contemplate anymore, he heard Lily give a slight scream. Eddie's heart stopped in his chest and his breath caught short. Clutching his wand tightly, he raised it and sprinted down the hall and into his bedroom.

Lily was unharmed but was looking directly at the window sill wide-eyed, clearly startled, and had her wand pointed directly at where her eyes rested. Eddie followed her eyes and saw a rather large, midnight black owl with beady yellow eyes gave a small hoot and dropped a small blood red envelope on Eddie's desk. It gave another small hoot and flew out the shattered window.

"What was that?" Eddie asked in astonishment, looked clearly startled. Lily did not say anything, but just narrowed her eyes at the exact spot where the owl had been and where the envelope was resting on the desk. "Lily?"

"Stay here," she whispered, holding up her hand at Eddie, to prevent him from asking anymore questions, her wand still at the ready. "I'm going to check this out."

"Check what out?" Eddie asked urgently, placing his hand on her forearm, to stop her from walking forward. Both of them ignored the tingle that shot through their arms at the touch. "Lily, what's going on?" There was a long pause. "You don't think it has to do with Jane's kidnap, do you?"

"Shh!" Lily shushed him as she walked towards the blood red envelope. "_Wingardium leviosa!_" The envelope floated in front of her and she surveyed it.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Eddie asked urgently, becoming more confused, frustrated, and more panicked with every passing second. Lily ignored him and continued to survey the paper with narrowed eyes. Eddie bit his lip to prevent himself from shouting, from ripping it from Lily's spell and opening it, revealing its contents; to see if it had anything to do with Jane's well-being. "LILY!"

"Shut it Weasley" Lily finally shouted back, a fire blazing in her green eyes. Immediately recognizing that familiar fire, Eddie clamped his mouth shut but his frustration did not cease. Lily kept the envelope levitated and muttered another spell at it, causing it to glow slightly and then fall to the floor. Breathing in relief, she walked over to it, kneeled down and picked it up. Finally, Eddie grew infuriated and stomped his foot like an overgrown child.

"Lily, could you please tell me what the bloody hell is going on?" Eddie shouted in frustration. Lily got to her feet with the envelope still clutched in her hands.

"I was checking to make sure if was safe to open," Lily said reasonably, making Eddie feel dumb and like a fool. "If you've been living like a Muggle for so long, the only reasonable explanation for an owl waiting to personally hand you an envelope, is that it has something to do with Jane's kidnap. It could have been cursed or something. I had to make sure it was safe to open and read. Is that alright with you, Weasley?"

Eddie shuffled his feet and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, trying to look angry at her, still feeling rather stupid. "Well, if you had just said that…" he mumbled lamely, causing Lily to roll her eyes.

"Open it," Lily said, ignoring his comment, handing him the letter. He looked at the blood red envelope in her hand, than back at her. "It's addressed to you. You open it."

Eddie took it with trembling hands and ripped it open timidly, as though waiting for it to explode. But, Lily was talented at what she did and all that came out of the envelope was a rumpled piece of paper. Eddie touched the letter and high pitched, terrifying scream came out of the envelope. Both Lily and Eddie screamed; Eddie dropped the envelope and paper and stumbled backwards. The scream was coming from a woman and it sounded as though she was being severely tortured. After a few moments, the screaming died down and the two of them stared at the letter, then back at each other, wide-eyed and gasping for breath.

"Lily!" Eddie croaked, trying to catch his breath, his voice hoarse from his scream. "You said it was safe!"

"It is safe!" Lily shouted back defensively. "That was no curse, as we're still here and unharmed."

"Then what was it?" Eddie snapped back furiously. Lily made a rude finger gesture at him and crawled over to the envelope, snatched it and scanned it, her emerald eyes becoming as wide as saucers.

"What is it?" Eddie whispered urgently, beginning to shake. "Has it something to do with Jane?" Lily nodded, her eyes never shrinking back to their normal size. "Read it out loud! Or let me see!" Lily handed it to him, her hand now trembling. Eddie seized it and began reading it.

_Dear Mr. Edward Weasley,_

_What you just heard was the sound of your fiancé, Jane Anderson, being placed under the famous Cruciatus Curse. _

_You have something we want, Mr. Weasley, and unless you get it to us and still want to see your precious fiancé alive, we suggest you hand it over without a fight. If you do not know what it is we want, you're not ready to see the lovely Miss Anderson again. Unless you know what it is, you'll come to where we are and hand it over. _

_But in case you do not know, we present a clue; the first clue to giving us what we want and closer to seeing the love of your life. Whether you see her alive again is completely up to you. Once you reach the location of the first clue, the second clue will present itself. The best of luck to you; for your sake, and for Miss Anderson's._

Eddie finished reading the letter; his face had gone deathly pale so that his freckles contrasted with his skin even more so, warm chestnut brown eyes clouded over so that anger and grief; panic and disarray had settled in them. He searched Lily's eyes desperately, as though pleading with her to know what they wanted to they could go right to these people and save Jane. But, Lily was just as clueless as Eddie and shook her head, looking at him, for the first time since he had returned, tenderly.

"Lily," he whispered, his voice shaking. With anger or sadness, Lily did not know and could not figure it out. "We need to find these bastards. We need to find Jane! They're torturing her!"

"What do they want, Ed?" Lily whispered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They said you should know. Do you?"

"No Lily, I don't," Eddie said in a infuriated whisper. "The only thing I have left from the wizarding world is my wand and my old Nimbus. Do you think it's that they want?" he added desperately, "my wand or my broomstick?" Lily bit her lip uncertainly and scratched the back of her head.

"I doubt it, Ed," she said in a whisper. "No offense to your wand or anything." This caused Eddie to chuckle and look directly into her eyes.

"None taken," he said with a sad grin. Lily attempted to give one back and for a split second, Eddie's eyes lit up for a moment. "You know, this is the first civil conversation you've had with me since I came back." Lily bit her lip again.

"Well, you're no fun to humiliate when you're vulnerable," Lily mumbled, trying to hide a smile. Eddie laughed, but the sadness and anger still rested in his warm brown eyes, still glazed over with negative emotions. Lily did not like seeing her former friend and boyfriend like this and looked down at the blood red envelope, still sitting on the floor with another little piece of paper inside. Lily guessed that it was the clue and reached down and grabbed the piece of paper inside and read it to herself before reading it out loud to Eddie.

_**My face is green, but not because I have been on a boat**_

_**Without magic, in water I manage to stay afloat**_

_**With my light, I keep those without control, labor, and keep things fair**_

_**However, I, myself, it is labor I can bare**_

"What the bloody hell does all that mean?" Eddie asked in a moan, still sitting on the floor, his knees up, his elbows resting on his needs, and his hands tightly gripping his flaming, bushy red hair.

"I don't know, Ed," Lily whispered. "It's a riddle. The first clue is a riddle and we need to figure it out." Eddie did not say anything, but continued to give dry sobs. Finally, he buried his face in his hands and his shoulders began to shake as he called for Jane. Lily's heart went out to Eddie and she kneeled beside him, pulling him in a small, but yet comforting embrace. It was very awkward for her, but she knew Eddie needed comfort, and Lily was willing to overcome her awkwardness towards him, even for just a moment. Eddie hugged her back and continued to sob. Lily just patted him gently on the back. Finally, he calmed down, pulled away, and stood up firmly, his brown eyes now blazing angrily, ready to fight and tear about the people who had kidnapped and were now torturing Jane Anderson.

"We need to find her, Lily," he said desperately. "I…I love her. I can't live without her." For some reason, Lily could not bare to hear these words from Eddie about another woman. She turned away and stood up, so Eddie did not notice her own green eyes glazing over with a sad emotion one would not be able place.

"We'll find her, Ed," Lily said firmly, trying to hide the anguish in her voice. She turned back to him, taking the paper from his hand and clenching it tightly in her own small fist. "I promise you, I will not stop until I find her. I will hunt down these people until I do not have a breath left in me. I promise you, Edward Ronald Weasley. You have my word." With that, she took her free hand, spit into it, and held it out for Eddie to shake. Eddie stared at her hand wide-eyed, remembering their old childhood handshake. He grinned, followed Lily's movements by spitting into his own hand and they shook on it. Doing this action made them both get a bubbly feeling, but under the circumstances, they were forced to ignore it.

* * *

Despite the rubble mess, Eddie had managed to conjure up a teapot and two mugs and before one knew it, he had two steaming cups of tea ready he and Lily. Lily thanked him hastily as she continued to read and reread the riddle that had been sent to them, meanwhile taking notes as she did so.

"The first one is easy," Lily said taking a sip of her tea, not tearing her eyes away from the paper. "Whatever it is, it's green."

"Big help," Eddie mumbled sarcastically. "It could be in a tree for all we know, if that's all you can come up with." Lily looked up for the first time in nearly and hour and glared at him.

"If you like, you can figure it out all by yourself Mr. Genius," Lily snarled, narrowing her eyes. Eddie put his hands up in defense.

"No thank you," he said in an affirmative tone. "If it is one thing I did not inherit, it was my mother's logic and skill at solving puzzles and riddles. I'm leaving this to the expert."

"Then let the expert do her job!" Lily snapped, turning back to her work and continued to take notes. The intimate moment they had shared earlier was clearly gone and was only there for the sake of Eddie's comfort. Now that Eddie was no longer in a vulnerable state, the pair of them had gone back to giving each other a hard time. It was a very unpleasant situation but both of them seemed to be able to deal with it well enough.

Eddie got bored with watching Lily and decided it would be best if he just paced the room. In the meantime, he called the Muggle police and they came to investigate the broken in apartment and gave Eddie any updates on Jane's disappearance. They questioned Lily's presence, but Eddie claimed she was a cousin, simply here to help him out and for moral support.

"Moral support, eh?" said the younger of the two cops who had arrived. He was young and handsome with dark, chocolate brown puppy eyes, short black hair, a strong nose, acne, and a charming smile. Eddie clenched his fists for a moment as he saw that familiar look men usually gave Lily. "That's awfully nice of you, little lady."

"I do what I can," Lily said dryly, clearly annoyed that Eddie called these men over, forcing her to be interrupted and not being able to use her Quick Quill Spells to take notes on the riddle. The officer smiled and flashed Lily a very charming smile, causing Lily to blush slightly.

"Feisty," he said with a smirk and winked at her. The older of the two cops was too busy searching his bedroom to notice that is younger partner was not doing his job and searching the kitchen. "The way I like them." Eddie's fists were clenched so tightly he could feel his fingernails digging deep into his palms. He sat down at the table across from Lily and moved the chair so that he was sitting right beside her, only inches or so away.

"I think you need to let me take you out pretty girl," he said with a wink. Lily just stared at him.

"I think you don't," Lily said coolly, turning back to her work. The officer ignored her obvious rejection and threw his head back and laughed.

"C'mon, just one little itty bitty dinner," he said, trying to run his hand through Lily's long blonde hair. Lily's eyes flared for a moment and she grabbed his hand and roughly threw it off her. Eddie grinned to himself, seeing Lily get physically hostile always brought him amusement.

"Don't touch me," Lily snarled, standing up, her chair falling over. The cop stood up as well; he was nearly a head taller than her.

"Are you trying to give orders to an officer of the law?" he snapped. Eddie's eyes snapped open. This man was angry now, being rejected by Lily. "I have power missy and I can make your life hell…now if you just let me take you out to dinner, you'll have nothing worry about."

Lily raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to retort but Eddie stepped forward, shoved the officer away from Lily and stood in between them and glared dangerously at the officer standing before him.

"I think you and your partner need to leave," Eddie snarled. Eddie knew of police officers like this guy. Many used their power of authority to take advantage of women. Eddie was not saying that all cops were bad; his partner who was clearly doing his job seemed like a good guy. But Eddie was not letting this cop take advantage, not on his watch. The officer was clearly startled at Eddie's reaction and looked at him wide-eyed. He did not notice Lily grow bright red and throw down her pen in frustration, glaring daggers at Eddie's back.

"I think you need to remain calm, Mr. Whesley…"

"Trust me," Eddie snarled. "This is me calm. If I was not calm, I'd do this!" With that, Eddie winded his fist and slammed it hard against the cop's jaw, causing him to spit out blood and fly against the wall. His partner came bursting into the room with his gun raised. Thinking quickly, Lily pulled out her wand and screamed "_Petrificus Totalus!_" The older man became stiff as a board and fell over, clearly astonished and terrified. Lily turned her wand back on the man who had been hitting on her and performed the same spell. When they were both stiff, Lily glared daggers at Eddie.

"Great," she muttered, "now I have to modify their memories. You just love to complicate things, don't you Ed?"

"Oh stuff it," Eddie grumbled, massaging his bruised hand; the one he had used to punch the police officer. "I blame you and your stupid veela nonsense."

Lily pointed her wand at each of them, muttered, "_Obliviate!_" and had them both escorted out of the building, both had a dazed look on their face and looked thoroughly confused. Once they left, and once Lily and Eddie returned back upstairs to the apartment, Lily rounded on Eddie.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Lily shouted. "You know perfectly well I can take care of myself! Why do you always have to make things so complicated?" Lily threw her hands in the air in frustration. "You will not be able to accompany on this mission if you get physical every time someone puts the moves on me. I am part veela! It happens! Deal with it Weasley! And in an undercover mission, people give you a hard time no matter if you're goblin, wizard, or veela! Get used to it or do not get involved in this investigation!"

"I'm sorry!" Eddie shouted in defense. "I just hate when men in some kind of power try and take advantage of other people!"

"Nor do I," Lily snapped, crossing the room and staring out the large bay window into the city lights. The sun had set and all one could see in the sky were the skyscrapers, glittering against the starless sky. "I would have taken care of that bastard. I don't need you to do it for me."

Eddie gaped at her for a moment and sputtered for a few moments. Lily turned around and glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. She stood in such a pose, as though daring Eddie to challenge her. He just continued to stare at her for a moment; a look in which Lily could not place. Eddie raised his wand, as though he was going to strike, and Lily raised her own in defense.

"_Accio Nimbus!_" Eddie shouted. Lily raised an eyebrow and a broomstick came flying down the hallway. Lily recognized it as his old broomstick which he used during Qudditch games. Eddie hopped on to it and pushed off the ground. Lily did not do anything except lower her wand.

"You'll be seen," was all she said. Eddie glared at her. Lily gasped at the glare he was giving her; it was so full of hate and anger that her heart wrenched; because it was hate and anger towards her.

"I don't care," he snarled before turning his broomstick towards his bedroom and flying out the shattered window. Lily kicked a piece of the broken mantel and screamed in frustration, before returning to the kitchen table to work on solving the riddle, her mind and heart debating on whether she should go after him.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle. Well, there's another chapter. I am rather excited about this story because I have a really good plot, and a superb ending to the serious. I wrote it all down so not to forget it and I promise to my reviewers who have been reading this series since 'Time Traveler,' you will not be disappointed. I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I am writing it. And just a heads up, I start college again next week so its going to be difficult trying to update but I promise, I will not abandon neither of the two stories I have started this summer and I promise they won't take as long to write as "Final Prophecy" (probably because I did not have a plot nor an ending when I started that one haha!) But please read, review, but more importantly, ENJOY!


	5. The Statue of Liberty

Chapter 4 – The Statue of Liberty

After a long, internal struggle, Lily finally rested her head against the kitchen table and banged it slightly in frustration. She was beginning to see why Ron never wanted her to take Eddie's case. It was extremely stressful, not just physically like all Auror cases are, but emotionally. Lily promised herself not to let any of these emotions stir but she was finding it hard to keep that promise. Finally, her emotions got the better of her, yet again, and she took out Hermione's beaded bag and waved her wand out, belting out a Summoning Charm, summoning her Firebolt and her Invisibility Cloak.

Her father's old Firebolt and Invisibility Cloak came flying out of the bag and rested before Lily. She grabbed the broomstick, swung her leg over it, pocketed the riddle, and flung the beaded bag over her shoulders before wrapping the cloak around her shoulders and pulling it over her head. Unlike Eddie, she would not be seen by unsuspecting Muggles. Lily followed Eddie's actions and flew out his shattered bedroom window and into the city sky, in search of her childhood friend.

* * *

Eddie continued to fly until it came into full view and he smiled to himself at the sight of it. Quickly glancing at his watch, he saw that it was past midnight and that no one would be there, so it was safe for his own private visit to the Statue of Liberty. When he came close enough, he decided to fly up to the torch. Tourists were no longer allowed up there and he was smart enough to know there would be no security cameras or alarm systems on the torch.

He quietly landed his broom behind the railing that surrounded the torch and sat down beneath it, his feet dangling at the sides, his Nimbus still clutched in his hand, in case of any accidents. Eddie just sat there, staring into the glistening water, reflecting off the moonlight. Despite never being able to see the stars due to all the lights from the city, Eddie was always able to se a full moon. And a full moon was out tonight.

Looking at the full moon always made Eddie think of Remus Lupin and how he no longer suffered during this time of the month. Remus was murdered in the war, right before the final battle. He was very close to Eddie, Lily, and Asher, but Eddie never gave himself a proper time to grieve over Remus, his mother, or anyone who was murdered or severely injured in the war. Eddie figured that was probably part of the reason he wanted to leave the country so badly.

Eddie shook his head; thinking of Remus would only lead to thoughts of Hogwarts, his parents, his sisters, Asher, and of Lily. This was not the time to think about anything that had to due with his past.

Eddie shook his head again and looked down at the crown of the Statue of Liberty, smiling slightly to himself. He remembered all the times he took Jane up on top of the crown and how much she had loved it. On their first date, Eddie had actually charmed the security guards to let them have a private tour after hours, so they reached the crown, just the two of them. It had been Jane's first trip to the Statue and he remembered how she gasped in awe, and how beautiful she looked. Eddie also reminisced how he leaned in and kissed her deeply with everything below them. He and Jane had shared their first date and their first kiss here at the Statue of Liberty. Maybe that was why Eddie was felt so drawn there tonight.

Eddie let the breeze billow through his bushy red hair and he closed his eyes. For the first time that night, that day even, he felt at peace, despite the sounds of sirens and horns honking; he felt at peace. Behind him, he heard a swishing sound; the sound of someone riding a broomstick.

Eddie's eyes snapped open and he remained absolutely still, except for his hand that was slowly creeping into the pocket of his sweatshirt, his fist enclosing around his wand. Taking a deep breath, Eddie ripped it out of his pocket, spun around, and pointed it at whoever was approaching him.

The person was still a few yards away but there was no mistaking that form and that long, golden blonde hair billowing behind her; Lily was riding on her Firebolt, her Invisibility Cloak clutched in her free hand, flying towards Eddie. He groaned to himself and stuffed his wand in his pocket, though he did have half a mind to hex her right then and there. Eddie was downright furious with her at that time; all he had done was to try and protect her from that scum and she threw it right back in his face. He remembered when she did that at Hogwarts and it had angered him then also.

"Ed?" she called in a gentle voice, following Eddie's moves and gliding her broom on to the torch of the Statue. She got off and slowly sat beside him, her legs also dangling on the side. Her emerald green eyes never left his face and it was making Eddie feel very uncomfortable. He was thankful it was dark because he was beginning to feel all the blood rush to his face.

"What?" he asked in a harsh whisper. Lily flinched. He was still angry with her and she decided not to say anything. Instead, she just turned and followed Eddie's gaze to the full moon. Silently, they looked at it, never saying a word to each other. The silence was almost comfortable, but still, tension hung out in the air between them. Lily finally took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, still looking at the full moon. Eddie's eyes widened and he tore his gaze from the sky and looked at Lily.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Lily repeated, looking directly into Eddie's warm brown depths. She almost laughed at the astonishment they held but held back, wanting her apology to be sincere. "I shouldn't have lost my temper. You were only looking out for my best interest. I am, after all, the one who's supposed to find your fiancé."

"Oh," was all Eddie said, knowing that was not the full or real reason why he felt so fiercely protective of Lily. Sure, finding Jane was part of the reason, but it certainly was not the full reason. "Umm…yeah it's okay." Eddie finally said, not tearing his eyes away from Lily's. "I shouldn't have interfered. I'm the one who should be sorry. You can take care of yourself, and I need to know when to back off."

Lily smiled up at him; the first true smile she had given him since they first saw each other in Miranda's office. If Eddie had been standing, he knew his knees would have buckled at the sight. He had not seen that smile in eight years and it felt like coming home from a long journey, seeing it again. Eddie, not wanting to do anything he regretted, tore his gaze away from Lily's face and looked back out to the night sky.

"How'd you find me?" he mumbled, looking at Lily at the corner of his eye. He saw her shrug slightly and look down at the water below.

"I didn't," she answered honestly. "I didn't know where to begin looking for you. I had never seen the Statue of Liberty before and I figured I should come see it, meanwhile give me some time to think where in the world you might be. I flew here and here you were. It certainly saved me a lot of thinking." Lily smiled again and turned to look back at him. "Why'd you come here?"

"This is Jane's favorite spot," Eddie said, still looking at the sky. Because of this, he did not see Lily's face darken. "We had her first date and our first kiss here."

There was a long pause. Lily did not respond, she did not want to respond. It was better if something were just left unsaid. Eddie just listened to his words and silent tears started coming out of his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. It was not until he sniffed slightly that Lily noticed that he was crying. Lily once again, could not bare to see him like this, and her heart went out to him.

"Oh Eddie," she whispered, and gently took his hand in her's and gave it a slight, comforting squeeze. Eddie squeezed her hand back and looked directly into her eyes. Lily saw it; the love, the need, everything he felt for Jane; how much he loved her, how much he missed her, how much it killed him to know she was being tortured and he was not there to save her. Lily felt her heart clench. It killed her to see Eddie have these feelings and emotions for another woman, but it destroyed her even more to see Eddie in such agony. In the end, Lily could see that Jane made Eddie very happy and he was very much in love with her. Something she could not accomplish it seemed. And in the end, Lily knew that if she was not the one to make Eddie feel like he was on top of the world, then at least Jane could. This made Lily want to find her all that much faster. She squeezed Eddie's hand again.

"We'll find her," was all Lily said firmly, standing up straight, reinstating her promise. Eddie gave a weak, sad smile and nodded.

"I know we will," he whispered. "I trust you, Lily."

Lily's heart fluttered at those words and she gave a timid, weak smile. She let go of Eddie's hand and gave a mumbled, "Thank you," before turning back to look at city skyline before her. She took a deep breath and ran a frustrated hand through her long blonde hair. Beside her, she felt Eddie give a weak chuckle.

"What's funny?" Lily asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. Eddie was looking at the hand of the Statue, his hand touching it lightly.

"I always wondered why they painted her green," Eddie said with a slight grin.

"Who green?"

"The Statue of Liberty," Eddie said in an obvious voice. "It never made much sense to me. You agree?"

Lily rolled her eyes and was just about to make a retort about how only Eddie would be able to come up with an observation like that at a time like this. But, before she could, it hit her like someone toppled a pile of bricks on top of her. Her eyes slowly widened and she brought her hand to her mouth, as though she was talking into a Muggle walky-talky. Eddie noticed her actions and stared at her in concern.

"Lily, are you okay?"

"Ed…the riddle…the clue…"

"Oh, don't worry, Lily," Eddie said encouragingly. "You'll figure-"

"It's the Statue of Liberty!" Lily nearly shouted, frantically reaching into her pocket and pulling out the riddle. "The answer to this riddle is the Statue of Liberty!"

"What?" Eddie gasped, getting clearly excited and frantic as Lily was becoming. "How do you know? What makes you figure that?" Lily took out her wand and the piece of paper in which the riddle was written out of her pocket.

"_Lumos!_" she whispered and the tip of her wand lit up, as she pointed it at the scrap piece of paper. "'_My face is green, but not because I have been on a boat'_…the Statue of Liberty is green! '_Without magic, in water I manage to stay afloat'_…the Statue sits in the middle of water and without magic. Muggles didn't use magic to build it!"

"Go on!"

"'_With my light, I keep those without control, labor, and keep things fair_…' The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of just that! Liberty! No control, from us, the British, and no labor…remember American slavery? And keep things fair. Isn't the American system all about justice? '_However, I, myself, it is labor I will bare_.'"

"What does that one mean?" Eddie asked earnestly. Lily bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of that final clue. She patted her stomach in thought and it hit her.

"It means she is a woman!" Lily said proudly, her emerald gems snapping open "Women bare labor when they give birth to their children! Eddie, the answer to this riddle is the Statue of Liberty!" Eddie was staring at her as though he had never seen anyone quite like her before. But, before any of them could say any more, the same jet-black owl that had delivered the first letter was flying down to them. It dropped the letter into Eddie's lap and fly back into the darkness. It was invisible after a few moments because the owl was just as dark as the night sky.

Eddie looked at the blood red envelope in his lap and stared at it as though it had the plague. Lily took out her wand and pointed it at the envelope, muttered an incantation and the envelope had a golden aura for a moment before it dimmed. Lily nodded her approval, telling Eddie that it was safe to open. He gulped, not wanting to hear Jane's tortured scream again. It would kill him if he would ever have to hear such a thing again.

"Do you want me to open it?" Lily asked uncertainly. Eddie shook his head.

"I'll hear the scream either way," he said glumly, yet reasonably. Eddie lifted the envelope and tore it open angrily, and closed his eyes when he touched the paper inside. To his relief, there was no scream and he began unfolding the note inside. But the paper was no note, no letter; just the clue.

_**Paintings and art cover the walls of my room**_

_**The youngest King uses me as a tomb**_

_**Even though I am rather old**_

_**My outside is made of bricks and gold**_

"BLOODY HELL!" Eddie roared at the top of his lungs, throwing the piece of paper off of the Statue. Lily shushed him, as they did not need to modify the memories of anymore Muggles tonight, and summoned it back with her wand, rereading it and stuffing it into the pocket of her jeans. "What do they want? What can I possibly have they that these bastards could want?"

"You still don't know?" Lily asked quietly, standing up, clutching on to her broom and the beaded bag.

"Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here," Eddie snapped, rounding on Lily. "I'd be getting my fiancé out of their clutches and killing the people who took and tortured her!" Normally, Lily would open her mouth and retort with a good comeback, but for some reason, this time, she decided to remain silent. She was finally beginning to see the distress that Eddie was in over his kidnapped fiancé and deep down, she began to pity him. She looked back down at the riddle in her hands and sighed. Lily had a feeling they were not going to be able solve this riddle as easy as the first one.

"Ed, please calm down," Lily said softly, so softly that Eddie whipped around and looked at her with those distressed, chestnut eyes and they soften considerably.

"I'm trying, Lily," he whispered, "but what you be calm if the person you loved was out there being tortured and you couldn't do anything about it?"

Lily thought of when Eddie was placed under a trance in their sixth year and a familiar lurch pulled her in her stomach.

"No," she said in an agonized whisper, "I wouldn't be calm. I'd be in…disarray. It'd be my own personal torture." Eddie did not realize it, but she described how she felt when Eddie had been placed under a trance in their sixth year by Britta Dirdel and she could not do anything about it

"Exactly," Eddie said gently, sitting back down, leaning against the railing, his feet dangling against the side. "The only other time I felt this way was when-" He stopped short and did not finish his sentence. The only other time he felt like this was when Lily was placed under the Sueno Curse in their fifth year, and the numerous times she faced Voldemort. Lily did not press him to finish his comment, she was not sure she even cared; she did not want to hear anymore about Jane and Eddie's love for her.

"Let's get out of here," Lily finally said, standing up and grabbing her broom, breaking the long, pregnant silence that had surrounded them. "We need to try and solve this riddle. I'm going to assume it's not going be as easy as the first one." Eddie nodded in agreement and clutched his own broom.

"Back to my apartment?" he asked quietly. To his surprise, Lily shook her head firmly.

"No, they know where you live," Lily said knowingly. "They could be watching us and the last thing we need is for them to know that you've hired an Auror, and Lily Potter being that Auror. They also might send some kind of distractions to prevent us from solving that riddle."

"Why would they to distract me from figuring out the riddle?" Eddie asked confusedly. "Don't I have something they want? Distracting me will only prevent them from getting what they want sooner." To his surprise, Lily beamed proudly at him.

"Now, you're thinking like an Auror," she said proudly, causing Eddie to stand tall and puff out his chest considerably. "And being as how you're correct, we still need to consider these people very dangerous and might want any excuse to hurt Jane even further. That's the last thing we want." Eddie nodded firmly in agreement.

"So where do we go?"

"I can't say," Lily said, darting her bright green eyes around them, as though waiting for someone or something to pop up out of nowhere. "We're not safe here anymore. They know we're here. Take my hand."

Eddie all of the sudden felt fearful and very dirty at the thought of someone watching him and Lily; watching him and Jane for the last year or so. He took Lily's hand without a second thought and without any hesitation and before he knew it, she was Apparating to who knows where and he was by her side.

They twirled and a sight came into view. Eddie recognized it as Central Park,; the exact spot where they had arrived by Portkey. Lily let go of Eddie's hand and did not say anything, except to pull out her wand and whisper, "_Accio banana_!" As the banana, which Eddie realized was the Portkey they had used to get to New York, flew towards her, she grabbed the sleeve of Eddie's sweatshirt and they both felt their feet being pulled from the ground and into swirling colors. They stayed in that state for several moments. Eddie knew they must be traveling far again, probably back to Britain.

When they landed, he saw they were in the same alley in Diagon Alley where they had originally found the banana Portkey. Lily still said nothing but destroyed the Portkey. After it was destroyed, Lily looked urgently at Eddie.

"Take my hand," she ordered again.

"Lily, what's going on?" Eddie asked fearfully. Everything was happening so fast and he did not know how to handle anything. Lily looked thoroughly anxious and a bit panicked, but at the same time, seemed to know exactly what she was doing. She ignored Eddie's question but grabbed his hand instead, once again Apparating to who knows where. He was using side long Apparation and did not have a clue to where Lily was taking him; he assumed it was a place she thought was safe.

When they twirled and arrived, Eddie looked around and recognized it immediately as Sirius's old home; 12 Grimmauld Place. Before he could comment or say anything, Lily grabbed him by the elbow and quickly dragged him up the stairs and shoved him inside, closing the door behind her. With a wave of her wand, the lights in the house lit it up and a fire was blazing in the hearth of the living room. It gave the place a warm, cozy feeling. Eddie just stared at Lily looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

"Kreacher?" she called out. With a sudden pop, Eddie recognized the old, ancient house elf appear before Lily and bowed deeply.

"Master Lily, what can Kreacher do for you?" he said, looking back up at her, his gray eyes twinkling merrily. Lily smiled down at him and tickled his long ear, causing Kreacher to shriek with laughter.

"Nothing as of now," she said nodding. "But, right now, Eddie and I will be spending a few nights here. I wish for you to remain with us for the time being, to keep you safe."

"And to serve Master Lily and Mr. Edward?" he asked hopefully. Lily rolled her eyes and gave him a smirk.

"If you wish to do so, Kreacher," she said good-naturedly. He nodded vigorously, causing Lily to chuckle. "Very well, buddy. You may settle into your old room for now. Once Eddie and I leave in a few days, I wish for you to remain here anyway. You may do and clean as you see fit. It is the only way to keep you safe. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes Master Lily," he said, bowing deeply again, he looked back at her. "Kreacher appreciates Master Lily's concern for him."

"Of course, Kreacher," she said with a small smile. "Now, off you go." With that, Kreacher scurried up the stairs to his old bedroom. For the first time since they had left the Statue of Liberty, Lily turned to look at Eddie and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry about that, Ed," she said, referring to the hustle and bustle they just encountered. "I had to make sure we weren't being followed or that anyone had any idea of where we were going." Eddie took a deep breath and sighed with relief.

"Fair enough," he said with a shrug, taking a look around. "But Lily, why here? Why Grimmauld Place? I understand we cannot go back to my apartment, but why not your flat?"

"If they find you at my apartment, they'll know you hired me as an Auror," Lily said reasonably. "Plus, being a Potter has its disadvantages. It could only make things worse for Jane."

"But isn't finding us at Grimmauld Place the next obvious choice?" Eddie asked slowly, looking around uncertainly. Lily smiled.

"Not when your Aunt Ginny is the Secret Keeper," Lily said with a proud smile. "No one will ever know we are here."

"You really are brilliant Lily," Eddie said with a bemused grin. Lily, who was still smiling, shrugged in a good-natured manner.

"I try," she said, causing both she and Eddie to laugh. With that, Kreacher called out to them to tell them that he had prepared broccoli and cheese soup, along with a chicken pot pie for supper. Lily and Eddie looked at each other, smiled, and walked over to the kitchen to eat their meal.

For desert, Kreacher had prepared a cranberry iced cake, which was one of Lily's favorites, and pumpkin pasties. As Eddie stuffed his face in the pasties, and Kreacher began cleaning the kitchen after Lily had told him to feed himself, Lily pulled out a piece of paper out of the pocket of her jeans and laid it out on the table. Eddie stared at the clue and paled slightly. Lily saw the look on his face and turned to Kreacher.

"Kreacher, buddy?" she called out. The elder house-elf turned to look at her, giving her a questioning, wide-eyed look. "Why don't you finish cleaning those later? Ed and I need to discuss some things in private."

"Of course Master Lily," Kreacher said at once. "Kreacher shall go prepare Master Lily's bedroom and a guest room for Mr. Edward." Lily smiled and nodded to show her gratitude and the little elf disappeared with a pop. Once he was gone, Lily turned back to Eddie and gave a small sigh.

"If we have any hope of finding and saving Jane," Lily started, "we need to figure out this riddle."

Heaving a sigh, Eddie nodded and slid the paper from underneath Lily's fingers and began reading and rereading it carefully, examining it, determined to find the woman he wanted to become his wife.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle. Wow, I'm writing this awfully fast. I'll probably get this done sooner than "Heir's Revenge" only because I know exactly where I am going with this story. Well I hope you guys are enjoying it! But please review; it really does encourage me to write more and to write faster. So please read, review, but most importantly, enjoy!


	6. The Second Clue

Chapter 5 – The Second Clue

Eddie awoke with a start and a loud snort, shooting up in his bed and looking around frantically. Not remembering where he was a first, he took a deep breath, all of the events coming back to him. He realized he was in one of the many guest rooms of 12 Grimmauld Place, though he could not remember how he got there.

Scratching his head, he got out of bed and realized he was still in the clothes had been wearing the previous night. Eddie shrugged and stretched before walking out the door and heading down the stairs and towards the kitchen. The hallway and outside the door to the kitchen smelled of sizzling sausage and he stomach gave a loud roar. Rubbing it, he swung the kitchen door open to see Lily and Kreacher bustling about the kitchen. Kreacher was the only one who took notice of his presence.

"Mister Weasley!" Kreacher called out, dashing towards him and taking his hand. "Please, take a seat. Kreacher and Mistress Lily are making breakfast. Is there anything Mister Weasley would prefer?"

"I won't lie Kreacher, that sausage smells delicious," Eddie said with a smile. Kreacher beamed and raced towards the frying pan, trying to make something special for him. Eddie's eyes drifted from Kreacher to Lily. He almost sighed. Lily was wearing sweatpants and t-shirt, her long blonde hair tied back into a loose, messy ponytail; the same kind she used to wear when they were back at Hogwarts. Eddie also noticed that she had a pair of catlike rimmed glasses on and oven mitts on her hands. For the first time since he had seen her, Lily looked the girl he fell in love with back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And for a moment, Eddie was afraid he would fall in love with her all over again, so he just shook his head and turned away.

"Corn muffins?"

Eddie jumped and turned back to Lily.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I made corn muffins," Lily said, not looking at Eddie, but instead bending over to retrieve the muffins out of the hot stove. "Would you like one?"

"Uh, sure," Eddie said uncertainly, as he watched Lily carefully take them off the pan and but them on a flat plate. She picked it up and walked over, placing the muffins on the table before turning and walking back to the stove. Eddie gulped and grabbed a muffin, hesitantly taking a bite. If it was one thing Lily was never famous for, it was her cooking. But, to his surprise, when Eddie took that bite, he could not believe how delicious, sweet, tasty, and moist it was.

"When did you learn how to cook?" Eddie asked without thinking, and then immediately slapped himself, waiting for Lily's nasty retort. To his surprise, Lily laughed.

"Your Aunt Ginny inherited your grandmum's famous cooking skills. She lived with me for about a year and taught me a thing or two," Lily said simply before waving her wand, letting the pan and bowls wash themselves. At that moment, Kreacher came racing up with a sausage sandwich for Eddie and a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich for Lily.

"Thank you Kreacker," Lily said politely, smiling down at the little house-elf. "That will be all for now."

"May Kreacher tend to the gardens?" the elf asked hopefully. Lily chuckled and nodded her head. Kreacher scurried off into the backyard and Lily took a seat opposite from Eddie.

"He's always on the move," was all she said as she took a bite of her breakfast sandwich. Eddie grinned awkwardly and just looked down at his sandwich. Lily continued to eat and did not take notice that her best friend, who had one of the biggest appetites she had ever seen, was not touching his food.

After several long minutes, Lily finished her sandwich and one of the muffins before waving her wand and placing her plate in the sink to be washed. She finally chanced a glance at Eddie and noticed his food still went untouched. Lily cocked her head to the side and raised a confused eyebrow.

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked, and to Eddie's utmost surprise, she sounded genuinely concerned. It made him melt, and to his surprise, he wanted to open up to her.

"No," he said in a shaky whisper. "Nothing is okay. Jane is still gone and Merlin knows what they're doing to her. It's making me nuts, Lils, I can't focus, I can't think, I just….its driving me crazy."

Thankfully, Eddie did not notice Lily shiver slightly when he called her, "Lils" but shook it off, and gently placed her hand over his in a comforting manner. Eddie was looking down at his food, his insides shaking, ready to be sick.

"I'll find her, Ed," Lily whispered. "I promise. In the meantime, starving yourself isn't going to help either of us." Eddie chuckled and gave her a weak smile. She gently ruffled his bushy, red hair and gave him a small smile back. Their eyes met for a moment and they both felt the spark, but both chose to ignore it.

* * *

The day went by slowly. Lily had locked herself up in a small office on the second floor with a piece of paper that had the second clue on it. Inside, she had locked the door and did not want to be disturbed by neither Eddie nor Kreacher.

Eddie did not know what to do with himself; Lily had locked herself in her home office and Kreacher was on the move, trying to clean the house. It was apparent that Lily had no resided in it in a long time. Eddie guessed that she probably used it when she needed to get away or needed some kind of vacation, since his Aunt Ginny was the Secret Keeper. Lily would not have it as a private place if she did not want it to be private. He had to admit, Lily had made it quite pleasant. Back in the day, when Ron and Harry used to take them here, he and Lily had always found it rather old and creepy, like a haunted house. Lily had definitely made a pleasant, cozy home for herself. But the only thing that Eddie did not understand was why Lily needed such a big house when she had her own cozy flat near London. But then again, there was that privacy. But, why not let Aunt Ginny be the Secret Keeper of her flat? What was so special about this place that Lily wanted to keep it and use it?

Eddie sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his bushy, long hair. His hair was getting so long; Jane would have been furious. She hated when he grew out his hair; always liked it high, tight, and neat. Eddie did not like it short but what Jane wanted, Jane got; he'd do anything for her. Shaking off any thoughts of Jane, because it only made him feel nauseous, Eddie trudged down the stairs and dragged himself to the living room. Kreacher already had a fire blazing in the hearth, giving a warm, cozy feeling that reminded him strongly of the Gryffindor Common Room. Eddie did not think Lily gave off that feeling by accident.

Eddie laid down on the couch but because he was so tall, his feet were dangling off the side. He grabbed one of the pillows and placed it behind his head and stared into the fire, hoping that maybe Professor Trelawney was right when she claimed that if you look into a fire long enough, you can see the future. But, trying to look into the future makes one feel very drowsy and a set of eyes extremely heavy…

* * *

Eddie awoke with a start and bolted upright, gasping for a breath as he heard a high pitched scream from from down the hallway of Lily's office.

"Lily!" he gasped, snatching his wand from out of his pocket and sprinting up the stairs, climbing them two by two up to the second floor.

When he reached the outside of the office, door, it was still closed. Eddie grasped the knob and tried to open the door but it was locked and he felt his heart race.

"LILY!" he shouted over the high pitched screaming. It sounded like she was being tortured. He continued fight the door knob but it was no use. Getting frustrated, Eddie stood back and pointed his wand at the door.

"ALOHOMORA!" he bellowed, and he heard it click and unlock. He pulled up his foot and kicked the door wide open.

"Lily?" Eddie asked urgently, his wand armed, ready to attack. When he saw the sight inside the room, he immediately lowered his wand, staring blankly at the sight before him.

There was a man in the room, but Eddie could not make out his face. It was blocked due to the fact that Lily had jumped on the man, locking her legs around his waist in a fierce hug. The man was hugging her just as tight, his tightly around her waist, squeezing tightly, but lovingly. It was apparent that Lily knew this man and was very excited to see him.

Even though Eddie had lowered his wand, something deep inside him still wanted wave it and hex the pants off of him. It was though some monster wanted to come roaring out of his chest and attack the man who had his slimy hands on Lily. Eddie shook his head, not realizing where this intense jealousy was coming from. But, it was there; his fists were tightly clenched, his teeth gritted, and he could feel his face getting hot and knew it probably matched the color of his hair.

"Alright in here?" Eddie asked in such a grumpy voice, that it even surprised him. The man dropped Lily and looked Eddie straight in the face, a big grin on his handsome features. Eddie's jaw dropped.

It was Asher.

"Is it just me or does Weasel bean here look like a beet with a bad sunburn? Freckles and red skin are just not a good combination, Ed," Asher said with a big grin on his face, causing Lily to throw her head back and laugh.

"Asher?" Eddie asked through a choked whisper. Asher beamed again, brushed past Lily, and limped over to Eddie and embraced him like a brother. Eddie was shocked at first, but gingerly returned the hug.

"It's been too long, Ed," Asher whispered, pulling away and leaning against his cane. Eddie looked at his old friend, up and down. The last time he saw Asher, he was depressed, lonely, and forever to remain in a wheelchair. Standing before him was a healthy, confident, good-natured young man; the way Asher always was. He was extremely muscular in his chest and arms; Eddie supposed it was because of all the arm strength he had to use with his wheelchair and cane. His hair was combed and remained its natural light brown glow, he was beaming, and his stormy gray eyes were roaring with a fabulous thunder.

"Ash…your legs…"

"Ah, has it been that long?" he asked with a chuckle. "Muggles can do amazing things…fake legs. They're not that stable but they're better than a wheelchair; hence the cane." There was a long silence and Eddie nodded.

"It's good to see you, Ash," was all Eddie said, patting his friend on the arm. He looked up at Lily, to Asher, and then back to Lily. "I'll let you two talk. See you."

Eddie was halfway out the door when he heard Lily give a frustrated sigh and he turned around sharply, raising an eyebrow. He knew that that sigh meant.

"Something wrong, Lily?" Eddie asked slowly.

"Yeah, you haven't seen Asher, one of your best friends, in eight years and all you have to say to him is 'Ash, your legs,' and 'It's good to see you?' Are you bloody kidding me?" Lily nearly shouted, her hands on her hips, her emerald green eyes narrowed as she took off her glasses and tossed them on to her desk.

"What do you want me to say, Potter?" Eddie snarled, looking annoyed, and then turning to Asher and with a cynical tone, he asked: "I apologize, Asher, for my rudeness. How's the family? Any promotions lately?"

Lily started toward him with her fists clenched, looking absolutely disgusted. "You have some nerve-"

"No, Lily," Asher said, raising his hand to stop Lily for continuing, not taking his eyes off Eddie, "I'd like to answer his questions." Asher reached out his arm and handed his cane to Lily, who took it hesitantly. Asher limped toward Eddie without his cane, his gray eyes mirrored Lily's; absolute disgust.

"My family is fine," Asher said coolly, "I married Yvonne two years ago and she is pregnant with our first born child. I am now working the assistant head of the Department of Magical Corporation. After old man Gibberson retires, there is a pretty good chance I'll become head of the department. Anything else buddy?"

Asher practically spat out the last word, as though he had dirt in his mouth. And with that, he turned back to Lily and gave a soft smile. "Well, I'll see you later for dinner Lily Billy?"

"You can count on it Asher Basher," Lily teased, giving her friend a wink. She handed Asher his cane and he Disapparated on the spot, not even looking at Eddie. Lily's smile immediately dropped when she looked and saw Eddie still standing there.

"I guess Ron and Hermione never taught you any manners," Lily snarled coolly. "Or they did and you're just too thick-headed for what they said to seek into that pathetic brain of yours!"

"Don't lecture me, Lily Potter," Eddie snapped back, turning his back on her and started towards the door. "I'm in no mood to hear it. You're not my mother."

"Mother?" Lily whispered. She whispered it so delicately, so gently, that he forced himself to turn around and look at her. When he saw her face, he could tell she was doing all she could to keep her anger under control. Her face was nearly purple, and her teeth were gritted tightly, her jaw locked, her fists clenched at her side, and that green, blazing fire was burning brightly in her emerald depths.

"Uh…Lily…?"

"You're right, Ed," Lily snarled, the fire burning stronger, "I'm not your mother. But, how is your mother doing? You wouldn't know, would you? You know what Ed Weasley…YOU CAN GO TO HELL!"

"Lily…"

"GO TO HELL!" Lily shouted one more time before storming towards Eddie, placing her hands on his chest, and shoving him as hard as she could out of her office. Eddie was immensely surprised at her strength as he stumbled backwards into the hallway and nearly over the banister. He stared at her wide-eyed.

"Lily!"

But she had already slammed the door in his face; she slammed it so hard that he felt the whole house rattle and decided he had better give her some time to cool down before talking to her again.

But, to be quite honest, it was good seeing the old, hot-tempered Lily again. And something inside of Eddie danced.

* * *

Eddie sat there for a half and hour in absolute shock, clearly stupefied over Lily's reaction to him being so rude to Asher and hardly mentioning his mother, Hermione. It seemed like minutes that he stared into the fireplace before he heard the showers going, figuring that Lily was taking one to cool down. A few moments after that, Kreacher approached Eddie with a slight bow.

"What would Mr. Edward like for supper tonight?" Kreacher asked, looking up from his bow. Eddie raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that up to Lily?"

"No sir," Kreacher said, shaking his head, "Mistress Lily is going out to dine with Mr. Asher and Mrs. Yvonne."

"Excuse me?" Eddie snapped, jumping to his feet, staring down at Kreacher with a fierce look on his face. Kreacher took a step back fear.

"Mistress Lily went to dine with Mr. Asher and Mrs. Yvonne…" Kreacher repeated slowly, in obvious fear. Eddie stomped his foot on the ground and yelled out in frustration.

"Instead of working on my fiancé's case?" he roared angrily, making the elder elf cringe in fear. "Bloody hell! Where did they go Kreacher for dinner?"

"I do not know, sir…" Kreacher said in a fearful whisper. Eddie threw his hands up in the air and stormed out of the room, up the stairs, and into the guest bedroom where he was staying, slamming the door so loudly that the whole house shook violently. Kreacher's ears dropped in disappointment and he strutted over to his own room.

* * *

Lily continued to glare angrily at Asher and Yvonne who were sitting across the table from her and Ezekiel. Ezekiel Tekerromb was a 'so-called' Qudditch player trying out for the American Asteroids. Without informing her, Asher and Yvonne had set Lily up on a blind date and were receiving death glares for it.

'No wonder they wanted to meet me at this fancy, expensive restaurant and wanted me to dress nice,' Lily thought, annoyed at herself for not picking up on something like this. They had been on her back about laying off work for a bit and getting out there and meeting someone.

"So, Lily, how is the new position treating you?" Ezekiel asked, flashing her a toothy grin, eyeing her up and down. Lily gave him a fake smile and flashed another angry look at Asher.

"It's treating me fair enough," Lily said automatically. Ezekiel smiled again and Lily rolled her eyes without him noticing. After what seemed like hours, when their food arrived, Ezekiel excused himself to go to the bathroom and before Lily could yell at her friends, Asher changed the subject.

"You do realize that Ed is going to be bloody furious when he finds out you banked out on solving his case to have dinner with us," Asher observed with a lop-sided grin, staring at Lily with amusement. He only brought up Eddie now because the case was considered classified and Ezekiel could not know about it all.

"You see this face Ash? My face?" Lily asked, pointing to her face. Asher nodded. "This is my face…not caring!" Asher threw his head back and laughed and Yvonne let out a soft giggle.

"Seriously though Lily," Yvonne started as they started their dinner, "the woman's life is in danger. It is not her fault that Eddie turned out to be a git."

"I pity her enough that she has to marry him!" Asher said good-naturedly, but both Lily and Yvonne chose to ignore his childish comment.

"I know, Yvonne," Lily said with a sigh, staring at her plate of food. "But there really is nothing I can do until I figure out the clue."

"Well then shouldn't you be home, trying to figure it out?" Asher asked. Lily shrugged.

"You can only read and reread a riddle so much and look at a piece of paper for so long before you feel like your head is about to explode." Lily said with an exasperated tone in her voice.

"Fair enough," Yvonne said with a smile, earning a kiss on the cheek from Asher. Lily grinned back and took a bite of her dinner before turning to look back up at the happy couple.

"So, Yvonne, you're on leave from work?" Lily asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Yeah, it makes me sad to be leaving my work in the middle of a big discovery," Yvonne said honestly, "but it is for a good reason." She smiled at Lily, and then turned to beam at her husband, who was rubbing her pregnant belly gently.

"The one in Egypt?" Lily asked knowingly, being Mistress of Magic and all. She knew of everything that went on in every department. Yvonne nodded.

"I'm really disappointed because we just discovered a new, ancient magic in the depths of the tomb of King Tut," Yvonne explained. "I especially find it amusing that we were able to get a few witches and wizards in with Muggles and make them believe they actually found the tomb of the youngest pharaoh of Egypt."

"Why did we have to make sure that the Muggles didn't discover the real tomb of King Tut?" Asher asked curiously.

"You know as well as I do that King Tut was a powerful wizard," Yvonne explained. "He was a Muggle-born born into an ancient, royal family. The boy was able to discover and invent all kinds of magic that we still use today! However, he was not accepted by his family, or his people, because of his power and it is believed that he was killed young for it."

"Killed?"

"It's possible," Yvonne said with a shrug. "We really don't know anymore than the Muggles know; except where the actual tomb is located. We just know that the tomb contains such magic that…it's just best that the Muggles do not know about it."

"Makes sense," Asher said through a mouthful of food. None of them noticed that Lily had not said anything throughout the whole conversation. They turned to her and noticed that she was staring out into the space, her mouth partially opened, her hand firmly holding her fork, which was resting in her plate. Asher looked at Yvonne confusedly, and then turned to his friend in concern.

"Lily Billy, are you okay?" he asked in concern. Lily nodded slowly, her eyes still wide and mouth still partially opened.

"Yvonne?" she asked in a shaky whisper. "Is the real tomb of King Tut…is it made of bricks?"

"Yes," Yvonne said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Golden bricks. Why?"

Ignoring Yvonne's question, Lily asked; "And what's on the walls of King Tut's tombs?"

"Oh!" Yvonne exclaimed, getting all excited. "The most wonderful forms of art work, wall paintings! It changed the world of art for both Muggles and wizards alike! It's absolutely mag-" Yvonne never got to finish her sentence because Lily had jumped out of her seat and grabbed her bag.

"Asher, Yvonne, I'm so sorry," she said hastily as she threw her bag over her shoulder. "But I need to leave."

"Lily?" Asher asked, standing up, noticing his friend's urgency. "Is everything okay?"

"Do you despise Ezekiel that much?"

"There's been a breaking in the case," was all Lily said, laying some money down to pay for her meal. "I'm really sorry. Tell Ezekiel I am sorry as well."

"Eddie's case?" Asher asked while raising a curious eyebrow. Yvonne's eyebrows were raised so high that they could not be seen from underneath her bangs. "You found a break from talking about tombs in ancient Egypt?"

"Yes, exactly," Lily said, nodding. "I'm really sorry…"

"We expect nothing less from the Mistress of Magic," Yvonne said with a soft, understanding smile. "Good luck, Lily."

"I will."

"We'll find some excuse to give Ezekiel."

"Thanks."

"Stay safe!" Asher shouted Lily she Disapparated back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Eddie heard a faint pop from the hallway and his eyes immediately snapped open. He lifted his head from his pillow and looked around the guest room. Noticing how a few of the picture frames that hung on the wall were tilted, and one or two had actually fallen and shattered on the ground, did he remember the fact that Lily had abandoned his case for the night and had gone out with Asher and Yvonne. The same fury he felt earlier when he found out where Lily was, started to rise through him again. Eddie grabbed his wand from his bedside table and hoped that the person outside was Lily, because he was in no mood to deal with anyone else, especially the rage that he was feeling. With a hold of his wand, Eddie rolled off of the bed and threw the door open and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw Lily standing there on the other side.

Lily was standing there; her long blonde hair was long and wavy; which was naturally pin straight so she had to have done something with it. She was wearing a classy, but very sexy black halter dress and black heels, carrying a large black bag. Her eye make-up made her emerald green eyes pop even more than they did naturally. Though she appeared slightly disheveled and stressed over something, Lily looked nothing short of stunning. Eddie felt his breath hitch in his throat but he gulped it down before she could notice.

"Eddie," started Lily, "I figured out the second clue. We need to leave immediately."

"Wait…what…Lily…"

"Eddie, need to go NOW!" Lily nearly yelled as she turned on heel and stormed down the hallway. Eddie gripped his wand and grabbed his cloak before following her, his heart pounding so loud in his chest, he was sure Lily could hear it from all the way down the hall. He was feeling so many emotions at once he did not know what to think or what to feel; anger, excitement, frustration, and fear were the primary feelings. When Eddie reached the end of the hall, he saw Lily standing at the edge of the stairs; the famous beaded bag in her clutches.

"We need to Apparate to a Muggle International Airport," Lily explained, telling him which airport to Apparate to. Eddie just stared at her in awe, clearly not knowing what was going on or what Lily was up to.

"Why an airport? What's the second clue?" Eddie asked breathlessly. Lily chose to ignore him but continued to rummage through the beaded bag. "Lily Julia Potter, you tell me what the bloody hell is going on this instant! This concerns my fiancé! I demand answers. Now-"

"The second clue is the tomb of King Tut; the youngest pharaoh of ancient Egypt."

* * *

A note from the author. Merry Christmas! I'm so sorry its taking so long to update. College is no fun sometimes and really leaves no room for writing, except writing papers. But here's chapter 5 and when I don't have work, I'll be writing chapter 6. Please enjoy and thanks to those who stay faithful! 


	7. Orpheum Puckles

**Chapter 6 – Orpheum Puckles**

"I still don't understand why we have to take a Muggle airplane," Eddie complained, leaning back in his seat, glaring out of his oval shaped window. He did not notice Lily roll her eyes and continue to write in her notebook. "It would be so much quicker to just Apparate to Egypt; and we'd get that much closer to finding Jane."

"You're worse than most five year olds," Lily snapped impatiently, closing her notebook and stuffing it in her beaded bag. "I already explained this to you. The people who kidnapped Jane are obviously watching us and tracing our movements. That is why they are managing to send us clues when we discover them. It will be harder for them to track us if we use the Muggle methods of travel and living."

"Why are we even playing their game?" Eddie nearly shouted, causing everyone else in their airplane to look at him, annoyed. The man on Lily's right gave a grunted snore and continued in his slumber. Lily shushed him. Eddie quieted his voice. "Why do we keep following these clues? Why not just figure out who they are and get Jane back?"

"I have to no clue as to who they are because you've been living as a Muggle the last couple of years," Lily said defensively. "I wouldn't know where to start except that it could be someone from the war who found you and wants revenge. But Voldemort's supporters are all either dead or in Azkaban. It'd be a lot more helpful if you knew what they were after."

"Well, I don't know!"

"So, we need to humor them until we can figure out what they want," Lily said condescendingly. "Plus, I find it better to humor kidnappers. They'll be less likely to harm the victim. If they feel their game is not being played, sometimes they act rather rash and we do not need hostile actions taken towards your fiancé." Eddie turned and glared at Lily; his ears were bright red and Lily could tell that his frustration was building.

"Stop talking like an Auror!" he snapped, his face going red. Lily rolled his eyes at his pathetic attempt for a comeback. "It doesn't make you sound any smarter."

"In case you forgot, Weasley," Lily started coolly, crossing her arms over her chest, "I am an Auror; hence why you hired me!"

"Yeah…well…stop talking to me like I am one," Eddie finished lamely, turning back to look out his window.

"Excuse me?" a stern, female voice called out from the aisle. Lily and Eddie both whipped around and saw a tall, tan stewardess looking at them, her eyes narrowed. "But passengers on the plane are requesting that you two take it down a notch. You're disturbing everyone else on the plane."

Eddie nodded in understanding. Lily, however, cocked an eyebrow and brought her voice to a louder pitch, so that everyone on the plane heard what she was saying.

"We're bothering everyone on the plane?" Lily asked, feigning innocent. "Oh, I apologize. I was too distracted by the undisciplined five year old who was running up and down the aisles earlier."

Eddie could not help but turn away and grin at the thought of Lily getting into a fight with a stewardess, or just everyone on the plane. This was the Lily Potter that he fell in love with so many years ago and it was refreshing to see her resurface every now and then.

"Ma'am…please…"

"Please? Ma'am…" Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up, facing the rest of the passengers on the plane. She looked downright irritated "Ladies and gentleman, my partner and I are investigators for the Federal Bureau of Investigation….we are on a very dangerous mission and we need to speak to each other freely to each other…" Lily glared at the woman sitting behind her was making all the remarks about the pair of them. "Does anyone have a problem with that? I didn't think so!" With those words, without waiting for a response, Lily sat back down and buckled her seatbelt before letting out an agitated sigh and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You handled that very well," Eddie mumbled sarcastically, but keeping his gaze out of the window. "If there is any mafia on this plane, we're dead."

"Oh shut up," Lily mumbled in an exasperated, tired voice, still rubbing the bridge of her nose. Eddie's antagonizing did not cease.

"I thought investigators in the FBI were supposed to be private…you know…top secret…" Eddie whispered sardonically. Lily did not look at him but just glared at the back of the seat in front of her.

"Well apparently no one on the plane knew that!" Lily snapped harshly.

"I knew that," Eddie said teasingly, coolly, trying as hard as he could to keep the grin off of his face. He knew that if he grinned, Lily would not hesitate to take out her wand, curse the hell out of him, and then modify every memory on the plane. She had the power to do so; she was Mistress of Magic after all.

"This is ridiculous…" she whispered, more to herself than to Eddie. "Listen, I'm frustrated, tired, and confused. Alright? The passengers and the nag behind me are not going to bother us anymore. The problem is fixed. Would you just take that loud mouth and just close it? I'm going to take a nap." She said all of this very fast, snatched her pillow, turned her back to them, and then closed her eyes. Eddie grinned again, then immediately frowned before turning to look back out the window.

Did it make him a horrible person to have inappropriate thoughts about the person who was trying to find and save his fiancé?

Yeah…yeah it did.

* * *

Lily and Eddie got off of the plane and scurried into the airport. They did not have to wait for luggage because Lily was carrying everything in the famous beaded bag.

"Lily, what are we doing? Where are we going?" Eddie asked anxiously, jogging so that he could keep up with her fast paced walking. Lily ignored him and continued to rummage through her beaded bag. It was obvious that Eddie was annoyed with being out of the loop; not fully knowing what Lily was doing or what she was up to.

"Lily!"

Lily stopped dead in her tracks, catching Eddie completely off guard, and he bumped right into her, knocking them both to the ground. The beaded bag flew across the floor, making a huge clutter and shake; a much bigger one than a bag of that size should have made. It startled many of the Muggles throughout the airport. Lily lay on the floor, on her belly, with Eddie on top of her, staring wide-eyed at the beaded bag. She sucked in gush of air that almost made her choke as an airport security guard stood in front of the bag and stared down at it. Lily and Eddie both had to admit that he was just about the ugliest man they had ever seen; even worse than Professor Severus Snape and he was just beaming at the guilty looks on their faces.

"Ma'am?" he said with a nod. "Sir?" Lily and Eddie both nodded their heads back as Eddie scrambled to his feet, pulling Lily up with him. There was something fishy going on around here and they could both sense it. This man…this security guard…looked so suspicious that when Eddie pulled Lily up, he kept her close to him, not letting go of her forearms.

"Might want to loosen your grip ginger," the security guard said in a sly, oily voice. The man was no taller than Lily, but this did not ease their bad feeling. "I think you're hurting this pretty little thing." His comment only made Eddie tighten his grip on Lily. To his surprise, she did not object; she must have been frightened as well.

"Everything alright here?" another security guard asked, walking up to the three of them.

"Just fine," the ugly security guard said in a deathly whisper, not taking his eyes off of Lily and Eddie. The first security guard nodded, and gave Lily and Eddie a suspicious look before walking away. The ugly security guard bent down and picked up Hermione's beaded bag. Lily jerked forward as though to stop him, but Eddie's grip on her kept her in place. The security guard looked at the bag for a moment before grinning evilly at the pair of them. Lily finally got a good look at him and was almost disgusted. He had long, messy, greasy blonde hair, black eyes that were swimming in mischief. His eyes were so black that Lily could not even manage to locate his pupils. The man's pale, oily skin was covered in acne and puss filled boils and he had a slight hump in his back.

"Where are you two lovebirds heading?" the greasy security guard asked coolly.

"Have we done something wrong or being accused of anything?" Lily spoke up bravely. Eddie did not lessen his grip and kept their proximity close.

"No…" he said in a harsh whisper. "Not yet…"

"Then I may have my purse back, please?" Lily asked assertively, almost in a demanding voice. Eddie nearly jumped in front of her at the look the security guard gave. It was a look like Lord Voldemort would have given Lily. But the next minute, he was, again, slyly grinning at her.

"Patience, Lily Potter, patience," he said as he handed her the beaded bag. Lily gasped and looked at him wide-eyed, backing into Eddie who placed a hard, protective grip on her shoulders, backing her away with him.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Eddie asked in a deathly whisper, ready to bounce on the man who looked as though he was threatening her.

"Calm down, Weasley," the security guard snapped. Both of their eyes widened even more so. The security guard gave Eddie a dirty look before his gaze turned back to Lily's. "If you two tell me where you are going, maybe I can help you find what you're looking for." Eddie finally let go of Lily and jerked forward in anger. Lily put an arm out to stop him and gave him a warning look before turning to look back at the security guard. She snatched the beaded bag out of his hands before answering.

"We're heading towards the real tomb of an ancient, powerful wizard; a pharaoh named King Tut," Lily said firmly, staring hard and long at the hideous man before them. He beamed at Lily's response.

"I'm Orpheum Puckles," the security guard said. "You'll follow me, won't you?" He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a wand. Showing it to them quickly before stuffing it back in his uniform pocket; he turned around and walked away. Eddie looked at Lily desperately, having no idea of what to do, who this man was, and how he knew them and how he knew where they were. Lily, however, did not meet his gaze. She was staring hard at Orpheum, her emerald green eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed as though she were concentrating hard on something.

"Lily?" Eddie asked gently, placing a hand softly on her shoulder. This did not break her concentration; she still continued to glare hard at Orpheum Puckles. Orpheum was halfway across the airport before Lily opened her mouth and whispered in a croaked voice;

"We…we should follow him," Lily whispered, her voice shaking. "We need to follow him." Eddie looked at Orpheum, who had turned to them and waved for them to follow him, and then back at Lily, looking unsure.

"Are you sure, Lily?" Eddie asked, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. Lily got goose bumps on the back of her neck and all over her legs and arms. This was the first time he was speaking to her in a caring, gentle manner and it made her feel warm and safe inside. Lily took a deep breath.

"No," she answered honestly, "I'm not sure. I'm not sure at all. But what choice do we have, Ed?"

"We…we don't have much to go on, do we?" Eddie whispered, looking at his hands, then back at Lily. He was surprised to see her looking up at him, her bright emerald green eyes absolutely glowing. It nearly took his breath away. She had not looked at him that way since they were teenagers…since their seventh year at Hogwarts. But there was no time to dwell on his feelings for Lily and her feeling for him. There were more important matters at stake here; like if they were receiving help or walking into a trap.

"No, we don't have anything to go on," Lily repeated, shaking her head.

"But, we have each other," Eddie mumbled awkwardly, staring at his feet. His stomach nearly jumped out his body when he felt Lily reach for his hand and give a reassuring squeeze. Eddie turned and looked at her wide-eyed, to find her smiling brightly at him.

"You're right, we do have each other," Lily said with a smile, her eyes twinkling. She continued to squeeze his hand gently. "I think that's why I'm not scared about this….because you're with me."

"Me too," he said, smiling back at her. With that, hand in hand, they dashed across the airport to follow Orpheum.

Once they left the airport, Lily decided that it would be best for them to stay a couple of yards behind Orpheum while following him, in order to escape and save themselves if this was, indeed, a trap. Their hands stayed intertwined as they followed Orpheum at a brisk walk. The ugly little security guard did not turn to look at the pair of them; knowing that Lily and Eddie were following him from a distance away.

Orpheum led them out of the airport and towards the parking lot. Eddie sucked in a gulp of air as Lily let go of his hand and walked in front of him, her wand at the ready. Eddie followed suit and pulled his own wand out of his pocket. They kept walking, getting honked at by several cars and busses as they went up the ramp to the top of the garage. When they reached the top, they saw Orpheum standing there, holding his wand in one hand and a little, golden statue of a man standing at his feet. Lily and Eddie stood side by side, pointing their wands at him, daring him to try and attack. He simply laughed at their antics.

"A little paranoid, yeah?" he said coolly, laughing. Lily and Eddie gripped their wands tighter and did not lower them.

"A Portkey," he said, as he nodded towards the golden statue resting at his feet. "On three, right?"

"You think we're taking a Portkey with you, a complete stranger, to Merlin knows where?" Eddie nearly shouted, his wand arm shaking. Lily did not say or do anything, but continued to point her wand at Orpheum, giving him that long, glare of concentration. Eddie knew that she was having a huge internal struggle with herself. She knew that this decision could very well cost them both of their lives.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked in a short whisper.

"Why…didn't you say you heading to the tomb of King Tut?" Orpheum asked in mock confusion. Lily's emerald green eyes narrowed. "Well, this Portkey will take us there."

"How are we supposed to know that?" Eddie asked harshly. Lily finally took her eyes off of Orpheum to give a stern look at Eddie that clearly told him to shut his mouth and to let her handle this. Eddie gave her a look back and turned back to the ugly man in front of him, who was beaming at them with a manic smile.

"What? Don't you trust me, Weasley?"

"You don't answer to him," Lily said in her assertive voice. Eddie realized that she must use this voice when on duty and when she became Mistress of Magic. It was an extremely demanding voice that could definitely intimidate others. "You answer to me."

"Potter wears the pants in this relationship, eh?" Orpheum asked coolly. Lily and Eddie both glared at him. "Are you two coming or not?"

"Why should we?" Lily asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Why surely…you're Mistress of Magic, are you not?" he asked in mock humor. Lily eyes stayed narrowed, as though scrutinizing him, but she did not answer him. Orpheum gave the pair of them a toothy grin and took her look as an answer. "Well, being Mistress of Magic you know that there are all sorts of enchantments protecting the tomb of King Tut. King Tut was one of the most powerful wizards of all time. He probably could have given Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle a run for their money. And not only was he powerful, but he was a pharaoh…a king. Surely you realize that even the Mistress of Magic in England is going to need a little help getting into that tomb. This Portkey will take you past most of the protective enchantments."

Eddie looked at Lily urgently and lowered his wand; his eyes wide and full of concern and fear. He was beginning to fully realize how correct Orpheum was about the ancient tomb of King Tut. Lily, however, stood her ground, kept her wand at the ready and continued to give the ugly little man in front of them a scrutinizing look.

"Lily?"

"Shush," she whispered angrily, not taking her eyes off of Orpheum. It was here that Eddie finally realized what she was doing. Lily was trying to perform Legillimency against Orpheum; trying to figure out whether the man was trying to deceive the two of them. Eddie closed his mouth, but kept his wand out and his grip tightly around it.

"Alright," Lily finally said, nodding. Eddie gave her a wide-eyed look. "We'll take the Portkey. But any funny business and I'll kill you faster than you can blink. Is that understood Mr. Puckles?"

"So untrusting, Lily Potter," Orpheum said condescendingly. "Have your issues with your mother and father made you oh so paranoid that you can't even give a benefit of the doubt to the person who is trying to help you?" Eddie placed a gentle hand on Lily's wand arm to prevent her from cursing the pants off of Orpheum. "You'll grab a hold of this statue with me, yes?"

Before either of them could walk forward and grab a hold of the statue that rested at Orpheum's feet, Eddie squeezed Lily's wand arm, which caused her to finally look at him for the first time since she had made the decision to follow the Orpheum. There was hesitation and concern written in his chestnut eyes. Lily was beginning to feel like she was at Hogwarts all over again; it was the same warning look that Eddie always gave to her when she was about to do something rash or impulsive.

"How do we know he's not working for the people who kidnapped Jane?" Eddie asked anxiously, but in a low enough voice so that Orpheum could not hear them. Lily bit her lip and let out sigh before running her hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"I used Legillimency against him," Lily admitted in a whisper, much like Eddie so that Orpheum could not hear. "I have to admit, I am not very good at it. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. However, when we first started following him, I managed to get something's. Halfway he began performing Occlumency against me…realizing what I was doing."

"Well?"

"He's not lying to us," Lily said firmly. "He is going to take us to the real tomb of King Tut. That Portkey will get us there and will get us through many of the enchantments. However, I don't know how pure his motives are."

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily looked up at his face and stared directly into his eyes."

"I mean, he will take us to King Tut's tomb. But I don't know what he'll do to us once we get there…" her voice trailed off and she looked away from Eddie and looked down at the golden statue that was sitting at the smirking Orpheum's feet.

"We should go sometime today, perhaps?" Orpheum called out sarcastically. Lily shot him a dirty look before taking hold of Eddie's hand.

"Shall we?" she asked, gesturing towards the Portkey. Eddie nodded and together, once again hand in hand, they made their way towards it. Orpheum was now beaming.

"On three?"

"One…two…three!"

Lily and Eddie grabbed a hold of the Portkey and immediately felt their bodies jerk from the ground. At the last moment, Lily realized that Orpheum Puckles had not grabbed on to the Portkey, and had an insane smile on his face.

Lily felt a lurch in her stomach as she stumbled to the ground when the Portkey had taken them to their destination, and she knew it had nothing to do with the rough transportation of a Portkey. Lily ignored the pain in her bones that crunched when she landed on the hard, brick floor, and jumped to her feet, her wand at the ready. She noticed that Eddie was now groaning on the ground, his hand rubbing his lower back. Lily narrowed her eyes and crept over to him, standing over him protectively with her wand still out. The room was pitch black but her eyes had adjusted enough to see that they were in a small room that was about four feet long and four feet wide.

"_Lumos!_" Lily whispered as she squinted into the darkness. She had been right; the room was extremely tiny but the ceiling seemed to be never ending. Lighting up the walls, she could see that they were made of the finest golden bricks that still somehow sparkled and shimmered at thousands of years.

Lily sucked in a gulp of air and realized that the Portkey had taken them to the ancient tomb of King Tut. She could literally feel magic in the air, warming her ever muscle and bone. Lily felt as though gentle fairies were going to come flying out of the walls. She had never felt magic like this, not even at Hogwarts. Only an extremely powerful wizard, even more powerful than Voldemort, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and even Harry Potter could ever dreamed of being. Just by being in the same atmosphere of King Tut's body, Lily knew that Tut could have given Merlin and the Hogwarts founders a run for their money. Eddie groaned again, interrupting Lily's thoughts.

"Ed?" she whispered, bending down and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder as he stumbled to his feet. "I think we're here."

"What?" Eddie asked stupidly, rubbing the back of his neck. Lily rolled her eyes.

"King Tut's tomb," she answered, ignoring his stupidity. "I think we're here."

"Where is Puckles?" Eddie asked, noticing that he was not in the tiny room with them. Lily eyes widened and she suddenly remembered why her stomach had not stopped aching since they had arrived. Yes, the Portkey may have taken them to the ancient tomb of King Tut, but who was there waiting for them and why had not Orpheum grabbed on to the handle to come along?

Because this was probably a trap.

Lily raised her wand.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle.

OH WOW....I am so unbelievably sorry I have not updated in so long! I just graduated from college, I'm going to grad school, and I'm actually co-writing a script for Hollywood as well as trying to get a book published. I guess that is why I have neglected my Harry Potter stories for so long and I apologize. I will NEVER abandon a story. I have never done that before and I am not about to start now. I hope you all can forgive me for my horrible neglect of these stories. I know you all have been patient and I'll try to update as much as I can. I'm just trying to get my writing career started so that you can read some of my REAL books.

Please be understanding. I truly am sorry!

But please enjoy the chapter. I'm uploading the next one right now!


	8. The Ancient Tomb

**Chapter 7 – The Ancient Tomb**

Lily raised her wand. Eddie followed suit.

"_Reducto_!" Lily shouted at the golden brick walls in front of her. Normally, the spell would reduce the bricks into dust or shambles, but these golden bricks only shook for a moment, as though there was an earthquake, and then nothing happened. Lily looked at the walls wide-eyed and then at Eddie. He too was staring at the walls as though he feared it. The 'earthquake' continued.

"Lily?" he cried. But before anyone could respond or do anything, the bricks on the wall facing them were beginning to move and take on a new shape. Lily raised her wand again but it was snatched out of her hand, as though someone had performed a Disarming Spell. She turned to Eddie in a panic but his wand was also snatched out of his hand. They looked up to see that their wands were floating over their heads, completely out of reach.

"Bloody hell!" Eddie shouted. "What's happening?"

Eddie panicked and immediately began to feel out the walls, except for the one that was changing shape, to find a way out. Lily, however, her eyes wide, stared at the one wall. She noticed that only a few of the bricks were changing that the bricks were turning to a solid gold liquid. The liquid began to ripple and became oval shaped, completely flat against the rough bricks. The gold oval than began to grow features and Lily's emerald green eyes widened even more.

"Eddie?" she called out in horse voice, barely above a whisper. But he was too busy shouting, pulling at his hair, and looking for a way out to hear Lily. Lily took a deep breath as the features became more defined and more descriptive; it took the shape of a face. In a few moments, Lily was staring at the face of young boy. She was transfixed, unable to move or speak. She was only able to choke out one word:

"Ed?"

Eddie finally stopped freaking out and he looked up at Lily, seeing her completely stunned. He rushed to her side, thinking she may have found or discovered something but instead. Eddie followed her gaze and his eyes settled on to the same handsome face. He let out a yell and stumbled backward a bit before clutching his chest and breathing heavily. To their immense surprise, the face chuckled and spoke in a language that neither of them could understand.

"What did he….she…what did it say?" Eddie asked breathlessly.

"No idea," said Lily, barely above a whisper. "Ancient Egyptian is not one of the languages we study in the Auror Department."

"Not even in the Mistress of Magic Department either?" Eddie asked, and for once he was not being sarcastic. Eddie sounded genuinely frightened and Lily knew that it was not right to tease him about it and just shook her head 'no.' Once again, the golden face in the wall laughed. Lily took the time to study the face. It was of a boy, no more than eighteen or so and because his skin and features were all of gold, it was hard to tell exactly what he looked like. His eyes, even though they were gold, were piercing. The boy had kissable lips, a large forehead, and his face looked somewhat uneven; the right side of his jaw went more inward and curved than the left side of his face, which was smooth and strong. But, despite that, the face could be described as quite exquisite.

"My new visitors speak English," the face said, with a straight face. Lily raised an eyebrow as the face stared back at her.

"You speak English?" Lily heard Eddie ask from beside her. The face ripped his piercing gaze off of Lily and looked at Eddie.

"I am in the afterlife," he said simply, "I can speak whatever language I wish." Eddie shuffled his feet in embarrassment and the face turned his gaze back on to Lily. Lily nodded in understanding.

"You're King Tut?" she asked in a gentle, understanding whisper.

"King Tutankhamun," the face corrected sternly. His tone softened. "But yes, I am the youngest pharaoh of Egypt."

"And one of the greatest, most powerful wizards who had ever lived," Lily said, giving him a bow of respect. She looked at wide with wide-eyes and gave him a look, encouraging him to do the same. Knowing that they could very well be in incredible danger, Eddie also gave a bow of respect to King Tutankhamun. The face nodded in approval with a slight smile.

"So…uh…can you tell us what is going on?" Lily asked uncertainly. King Tut just stared at her and his face became impassive. His eyes widen and he suddenly looked as though he were in a trance.

"Only one has gotten past my famous enchantments and defenses," said King Tut, his voice monotone. "I have never seen such magic. She came here and told me to wait for someone."

"Who?"

"I cannot say. Only they know the answer," said King Tut. Eddie gave Lily a confused and desperate look but Lily could only shrug her shoulders; she was just as confused as he was and King Tut seemed to be making no sense.

Lily knew that the only way to get an answer out of King Tut, to let them by without danger, to let them get into his tomb in order to get that third clue or to help them get to Jane; then she had to appeal to his positive nature. Lily had to appeal to him, to make sure that she could relate to him. Lily needed King Tut to trust her and to open up to her. It was the only way to get to the next step.

Then it hit Lily; an explosion blew within the bit of her stomach like a ticking time bomb. What if Jane was hidden on the other side of this wall? What is she was being held captive in the tomb of the youngest pharaoh? Did the kidnapper like the symbolism of killing a Muggle woman in the tomb of the youngest pharaoh of Egypt and one of the most powerful wizards of all time? Lily's insides panicked but she knew on the outside, she had to stay calm, so that she could trick King Tut and to make sure that Eddie also stayed calm.

"King Tutankhamun?" Lily asked, looking back at the golden face among the golden brick wall. King Tut, who had never taken his eyes off of Lily, nodded. "What happened to you? You were a great king and you were so young, so powerful. What happened?"

The young pharaoh said nothing but stared at Lily as though he had never seen anything quite like her before. She noted that under King Tut's intense stare that Eddie took a step toward her and stood protectively behind her. Lily could not help but grin slightly at Eddie's feeble attempt to protect her.

"No one," King Tut started, "has ever asked that before."

"Well no one would be able to ask you, would they?" Eddie blurted out without thinking. "I mean…you're dead. Plus, you said it yourself, only one person has been able to penetrate your magical defenses. I mean, no one would be able to ask you." That was one of the remarkable things about Eddie, the few times that Lily did not have the words, he would have them and he would say them for her. Though that rarely happened because Lily was known for speaking her mind, she was grateful for when it did happen. King Tut, however, narrowed his eyes at Eddie.

"I said only one person has made it to my tomb," King Tut snapped angrily. "Twelve people have made it to this point; fourteen now including you two. And none of them ever asked about me. They just wanted the treasures that lie within my tomb."

"Well, I'm asking you," Lily said, nodding her head. "What happened to you?" King Tut stared at her for a moment before taking a deep, raspy breath.

"I was only nine years old when I became pharaoh of Egypt. That is hardly old enough to rule a kingdom. It is impossible for anyone to understand being thrown into a situation that they are hardly ready for," King Tut explained. Lily gave a lop-sided smirk and shook her head slowly.

"No, no I don't think many people can understand that," she whispered softly. Eddie turned to look at her and gently lifted a hand to stroke the back of her neck. Lily ignored the gesture, which caused Eddie to take his hand away, and look to the other side of the room, blushing severely. King Tut took no notice of Lily's comment or Eddie's action.

"Because of my young age, I had many influential advisors; people who helped me make decisions about what I could not understand," King Tut continued. "One of those advisors went by the name of General Horemheb, the Vizier Ay. He was the only one who knew I was a wizard, other than my mother of course. Horemheb helped me keep my secret and never told anyone of my magic and how I used my magic to help restore the Egyptian economy and our diplomatic relationships with other kingdoms.

"Horemheb accidentally let it slip to my beloved wife, Ankhesenamun, that I was a wizard. He assumed that I told her on our wedding night. I, however, understood my wife and knew that she would think of it is as evil…and use it against me. I never told her. It is my deepest regret," King Tut looked away from Lily and in the space between Eddie and the wall. "Maybe…if I had told her…if I had explained to her that while magic can be used for evil, that I was using it for the good…to help Egypt…then maybe I could have done more for Egypt….and the wizarding world. Maybe today we would be able to give magic to those who cannot attain it through birth."

"Your highness," Lily interrupted, holding up her hand, her eyes wide. "Are you trying to tell me that your wife murdered you?"

"Ankhesenamun lured me to her bed chambers. I thought she was trying to seduce me," explained the golden face. "But I was wrong. She told me that she knew what I was and that she would not stay marry to someone as evil as me, nor would she give birth to the heirs of evil. We struggled, but she hit me over the head with an object. I am not sure what she grabbed. Then…I died.

"But my death was not enough for my beloved Ankhesenamun. She meant what she said when she said she would not give birth to their heirs of evil. So, she cut out the twin sons that were growing in her womb," King Tut said in a soft, sad voice. "Many years ago, my tomb was discovered with the coffins of two infants that have not yet reached full human potential. Those were my unborn sons. Horemheb knew what truly happened and covered up the mess that my wife had created and buried my sons with me. He knew that is the way I would have wanted it.

"Many years later, it was discovered that I had been a wizard and wizards and witches from all over the country came in search of my tomb. Well, I was discovered, though no one, except her, has even seen the coffin. The magic in this place was beyond anything that any of them could ever experience. They knew that those who did not understand magic would never be able to penetrate the magical defenses that my soul would naturally create. My magic was much too powerful to simply die with me. I had used a spell I created to protect my tomb, my body, and the bodies of my unborn sons. Unfortunately, my magic was not enough to save them. The witches and wizards found the coffins of my unborn sons, regarded them as nothing, and placed them in my false tomb."

"False tomb?" asked Eddie.

"Yes, the tomb that was created to look like mine," explained King Tut. "It was made for those who specifically did not understand magic."

"Muggles," Lily whispered to Eddie. He nodded and King Tut did not notice.

"I was a famous king; surely those who did not understand the magic would come looking for my tomb as well. So, a false tomb was created to trick them and the witches and wizards placed the coffins of my sons in that false tomb."

"King Tutankhamun," started Lily, "I apologize for your sufferings. Trust me, if there is one person who understands loss and suffering, it is me."

"Really?" King Tut asked in a disbelieving tone. "Have you even been betrayed by the one you love most in this world? Have you felt the agony knowing that the person you care for most in this world no longer feels the same for you? Have you ever felt the agony of having your unborn children ripped away from you?"

At those words, both Lily and Eddie immediately tensed and went rigid. Eddie could hardly breathe and Lily was now fidgeting with her fingers, looking down at her hands, though she was still standing proud. Eddie chanced a glance at her, then looked away, his face growing scarlet. He was not sure how Lily would answer. Yes, the both of them have felt the pain of losing an unborn child. How could either of them forget the tragic miscarriage that Lily went through during the final battle with Voldemort? But did Lily really feel betrayed? Were Eddie's actions as horrible as Ankhesenamun's had been? Were they worse?

"Yes…" Lily finally whispered after several moments of silence. "Yes I have been betrayed by the person I love most in this world." Eddie's stomach began doing somersaults and he felt his breath quicken. "And yes, I have had an unborn child ripped away from me."

Eddie refused to look at Lily. He just stared straight ahead at King Tut's face. King Tut glanced quickly at Eddie than turned back to Lily

"I see…" whispered King Tut. Lily stood proud and tall, staring hard at King Tut.

"But, I overcame my tragedies," said Lily, chancing a glance at Eddie. He was paler than a ghost. "I became a famous Auror and am now the most powerful witch in Britian." For some reason, Eddie felt his heart completely sink.

"Well, miss, I admire your perseverance," the pharaoh said, nodding his head towards Lily, in respect. "But, now it is my turn to ask the questions. Why are you here? What do you want?"

"We need to enter your tomb," Lily said firmly. The golden face of King Tut stared at them and sighed.

"I am sorry my dear, but only one has had the power to enter my tomb," said King Tut in a blissful voice. "She held a magic…a deep penetrating magic…a magic that I have never encountered…until just now."

"What do you mean?" asked Eddie, cocking a confused eyebrow. King Tut ignored him.

"She used this magic…oh that voice…that blissful voice…and she was able to enter the tomb. She was also able to make sure that I made a promise to her." King Tut was once again speaking in that dazed voice and Lily immediately began to shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"What promise is that?"

"To destroy anyone who comes into this room," said King Tut, "unless they give me a specific name." Lily and Eddie stared wide-eyed at the golden face of King Tut as they slowly let his words sink in.

"Destroy?" Eddie asked in a choked voice. He gently grabbed a hold of Lily and brought her closer to him. She was not sure if he was doing this to protect himself or to protect her. Either way, she did not feel comforted. Lily immediately looked up at the floating wand above her head and stared at it determinedly. "You mean…you're going to…?"

"I am truly sorry," said King Tut, "but unless I hear the name, I am going to have to kill you both. This was a promise, a contract binding wizard and witch together. I cannot break it. I cannot."

"Why not?" Eddie shouted angrily. He did not notice Lily frowning and looking from her wand to King Tut. "What is the worst that can happen to you? You're already dead!"

"I consider myself an honorable spirit," King Tut said stiffly. "I am truly sorry but until I hear the name, there is nothing I can do."

"King Tutankhamun," Lily said out of nowhere, still staring at her wand. "I have the power to destroy this tomb. I suggest you give us back our wands and let us be on our way."

"Lily, just because you're the Mistress of Magic in England does not mean you have the power to destroy one of the most magical, enchanted places in the entire world!" Eddie shouted in frustration, throwing his hands in the air, panic rising in his chest. Lily ignored him and looked from her wand back to the face of the youngest pharaoh. King Tut also ignored Eddie and continued to stare curiously at Lily.

"My dear, I do believe you have the power to destroy this tomb. I believe you are one of the few who has the power to enter my tomb," said King Tut. "But, a promise is a promise. I am sorry but until I hear the name…"

At that precise moment, golden bricks on both side of King Tut's face opened and water came rushing out by the galleon, filling the tiny room with water. Eddie screamed in horror as Lily gasped and her eyes went wide-eyed. She stared at King Tut furiously before turning to Eddie and grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Lily, we're going to die!" he shouted, pulling at his wild, curly red hair. "We're going to drown! Puckles sent us to a trap!" Lily raised her hand and gently smacked Eddie across the face, glaring at him.

"Calm the bloody hell down for a second!" Lily shouted back, talking very fast and in a complete and utter frenzy. "Don't you see what is happening? Jane's kidnapper's sent us here! Puckles was one of the kidnappers. One of the kidnappers…he…or she…was the one that made King Tut promise to destroy anyone who came through here unless they said a specific name. Jane's kidnappers are behind all of this, Ed. You need to say Jane's name. Say her name! That is the name he needs to hear and he needs to hear it from you! SAY IT!"

"Jane!" Eddie shouted out desperately. The water was now up to their kneecaps and growing at a fast and steady rate. "Jane Anderson!"

Nothing happened and the water continued to fill the room at a fast and steady rate. Panic began to swell in both Lily and Eddie's chests. Eddie pulled himself from Lily's grip and was once again gripping at his red hair screaming in fear.

"JANE ANDERSON! JANE ANDERSON!" Eddie screamed desperately as he tried to jump up and grab his wand. But King Tut must have placed a spell on the wands because every time Eddie got nearer, the wand flew further up into the air and it was completely out of reach. Even if Lily managed to stand on Eddie's shoulders, the wands would still be completely out of their grasp. Lily now began to panic.

"Jane Anderson is not the name King Tut needs to hear!" Lily shouted over Eddie's yells as she desperately began to find a way out. "Say your name!" The water was now up to their waists.

"EDWARD WEASLEY!" Eddie shouted. "EDWARD RONALD WEASLEY!"

The water continued to fill the room. It was now rising to their shoulders.

Lily became desperate. Tears were now beginning to fill her emerald green eyes as she realized that she had allowed them to walk right into a trap. There was no doubt in her mind that Jane's kidnappers had been here and had set the whole thing up. What were they looking for? What name did they want to hear? Because she did not know these answers, Lily was now going to be responsible for not only her own death, but for the death of Eddie Weasley and an innocent Muggle, Jane Anderson. The water was now up to their necks and she could still hear Eddie screaming desperately. Lily looked at King Tut's face, which was still above water, and gave him a pleading look to make it all stop; to let them live. But King Tut's face never left own; his gaze had never come off of Lily. From the moment they had entered the room, King Tut had not taken his eyes off of Lily unless he absolutely had to look at Eddie. Why? And why had Puckles known who she and Eddie were and why she was with him?

Then, it hit Lily. It was like someone had dropped a swinging back of sand into her gut as the truth finally dawned on her.

"LILY POTTER!" Lily shouted as she stretched her neck, as to not go under the cold frigid water that was now beginning to sweep over their heads. "THE NAME YOU NEED TO HEAR IS LILY POTTER!"

The bricks closed and the water immediately started to drain from the room, even more quickly than it had filled it. In a matter of moments, Lily and Eddie were standing on dry brick, completely soaked from head to toe. Once the water had disappeared, apart from a few puddles, their wands fell to the ground and bounced at their feet. Eddie stared at wand, looked at Lily, then King Tut, then back to Lily.

"That was the name he needed to hear?" Eddie asked in shock, almost angrily. "Your name? Lily Potter was the name?"

"Yes, that was the precise name I needed to hear," said King Tut. "Congratulations."

"Oh yes, congratulate us for trying to kill us and Lily here saving our necks!" Eddie shouted sarcastically at the golden face, picking up his wand and stuffing it into his pocket. Lily, however, gently picked up her wand, not taking her eyes off of King Tut's face.

"Now what?" Lily asked quietly. "Do we get to enter your tomb?"

"Of course not!" King Tut said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I let her into my tomb because I fell in love with her!"

"You mean your wife?" Eddie asked.

"Certainly not," King Tut said offensively. "I would never allow my murderer to enter my sanctuary."

"But…you've been dead since then…how could you possibly fall in love with – OW!" Lily had stomped hard on Eddie's foot and gave him a look that clearly said that he needed to shut his mouth. Eddie gave her a dirty look, then glared at King Tut before turning away, limping on his foot.

"If you won't allow us into your tomb," started Lily, "then what happens now?"

"I present you with a riddle, and then the Portkey which transported you here will take you back to where you first touched it," King Tut explained and he slowly took a deep breath.

_**I am a King's castle made of stone of scone**_

_**In the past, you would surely die if you tried to visit me alone**_

_**In the land where the little men drink**_

_**Give me a kiss and you will surely sink**_

There was a long pause as Lily grabbed her beaded bag, pulled out her Quick Quill and notepad and quickly wrote down the third clue. Stuffing quill and pad back into her beaded bag, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you King King Tutankhamun," Lily said with a nod. "My friend and I will be leaving now." There was a tiny pop behind them and the golden statue of a man, the Portkey that brought them here had returned. Eddie ran towards it and looked at Lily anxiously, more than ready to leave the ancient tomb.

"You're not going to enter my tomb?" King Tut asked, his eyes wide and his tone clearly that of shock. "You said it yourself; you have the power to do so. I can sense that."

"You're right," said Lily, "I do have the power to enter your tomb. But, I am not going to."

"Why?

"Ed and I are not interested in your riches, King Tutankhamun," Lily said honestly, looking at the young pharaoh square in the eye. He stared back at her curiously. "We got everything we came for. That is more than enough. I thank you for your time."

With that, Lily turned her back on the youngest pharaoh of Egypt and one of the most powerful wizards of all time.

"You ready?" she asked Eddie. Eddie nodded vigorously before they both grabbed on to the gold statue, the ground being yanked out from underneath them.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle.

I am working on the next two chapters right now. I would like to finish them tonight but I don't know if I can. If not, I will definitely finish them tomorrow night.

Once again, I apologize for my lack of update and I hope to have my other story, Harry Potter and the Heir's Revenge updated soon.

Please forgive me and please review! I still love feedback!


	9. The Third Clue

**Chapter 8 – The Third Clue**

Once again, Lily and Eddie landed on the ground with a hard thud. Lily groaned and looked around, realizing that she and Eddie were back in Eddie's apartment in New York City. Lily screamed and jumped to her feet, her wand at the ready. Eddie too looked up and noticed where they were.

"What are we doing back here?"

"Puckles is much cleverer than we thought," said Lily, checking all of the rooms with her wand out, ready to strike. "He obviously transformed the Portkey to take us back here, to where we started, rather than back to the airport."

"Why wouldn't he want us to go back to the airport?" Eddie asked, getting to his feet and grabbing a towel from the kitchen to dry his fiery, curly red hair. Lily continued to search the apartment for any intruders.

"Because that is where he is…we would be able to find him there quite easily. Even if he had already escaped, I would probably be able to find out where he escaped without a problem," explained Lily as she searched Eddie's bedroom. "At least this way, taking us back here, he'll be able to cover his tracks."

"How would you be able to find him if he already escaped the airport?" Eddie asked curiously, roughly drying hair with the towel, turning his red locks into a wet, frizzy mess. Lily, satisfied with her search of the apartment, put her wand into her pocket before walking over to the kitchen, following Eddie's actions, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself.

"I'm Mistress of Magic of England," Lily said with a shrug. "Given enough evidence I can put a special trace on any witch or wizard in the world." Eddie chuckled to himself as he shook his head and walked into his bedroom.

"This Mistress of Magic thing seems to be a pretty powerful thing," Eddie said, slightly sarcastic as he shut the bedroom door behind him. "You enjoying it?"

"It pays," said Lily as she took a seat at the kitchen counter, beginning to shiver due to her wet clothes. She heard Eddie give a hearty chuckle from his bedroom at her response. "It wasn't a huge surprise to be honest. Because of my power of Eyeluta and my name, it wasn't a huge shocker that I kept getting promoted in the Auror Department."

Eddie reappeared from his bedroom wearing dry clothes and he was holding some dry clothes in his hand. He tossed them to Lily.

"Those will do for now," he said went into the kitchen and lit the stove, placing the kettle on for some hot tea. "You don't think you got promoted based on your skill alone?" Lily got up from her seat and went into Eddie's room to change into the dry clothes he had loaned her. When she closed the door behind her, Eddie could not help but think of images of Lily getting undressed…in his room…in his bedroom…right now. Lily's voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"No, I definitely got promoted because of my skills," she called out from the bedroom. "But, my name and Eyeluta definitely helped speed up the process."

Eddie could feel himself breathing heavily at the thought of Lily in the next room; the long, golden blonde hair, her shapely figure, those curves….

"STOP!" Eddie shouted out loud. Lily came bursting from the room wearing a pair of his sweatpants and a New York Giants t-shirt that was way too big on her. Her eyes were wide and fierce and her wand was already at the ready.

"Eddie what's wrong?" she asked urgently. Eddie shook his head to wake himself out of his daze and stared at the girl before him. He did not know if it was because she was part veela but even in a pair of sweatpants, t-shirt, and her blonde hair all ruffled, frizzy, and wet, she looked undeniably amazing…simply beautiful.

"Nothing…just…burnt myself on the stove is all," mumbled Eddie as he quickly turned to the cabinets to get the cups of tea ready. Lily raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Instead she took her seat back at the counter in front of the cup of tea that Eddie was now pouring for her. As he poured it, Lily reached into the beaded bag and pulled out her notebook and immediately began studying the third clue. Eddie poured himself a cup, put the kettle back on the stove, and turned to stare curiously at his former best friend. She was engrossed in the riddle, but could feel his penetrating stare and slowly but surely, looked up and met his intense gaze.

"What?" asked Lily, her eyes wide and confused.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" blurted Eddie, slamming his hand down on to the counter. "Why in the damn hills did the spirit of King Tut need to hear your name out of all names in this world?" Lily looked at Eddie thoughtfully before taking a sip of her tea and settling it down gently on the counter.

"I knew you would ask me this," started Lily, "but I was hoping that you wouldn't."

"Why not?" Eddie asked curiously, leaning on the counter across from her. Lily looked into his warm, gentle chestnut eyes and sighed before looking down at the counter again. Then Eddie did something that he had not done since before they had broken up; he cupped his forefinger underneath her chin and lifted her head so that she looked at him square in the eye. Emerald met chestnut and they could both feel the warmth they had always felt when looking into each other's eyes.

"Because…because I'm beginning to think that there is more to this kidnap than we thought," explained Lily as she got up from the stool at the counter and began pacing the living room. Eddie's eyebrows furrowed, but he did not say anything, allowing Lily to continue. "Eddie, are you sure that no one knew that you were a wizard?"

"I'm sure. The only people who knew that I was a wizard were the other students at the academy, but that is why I changed my name," said Eddie.

"It just…I think you must have…I mean you had to…there's no other explanation," Lily said desperately, still pacing the living room. Eddie darted from behind the counter and stood near her in the living room.

"No other explanation to what, Lils?" asked Eddie curiously, his eyebrows completely disappeared from under his bushy red hair.

"Did anyone know about your connection with me?" Lily finally asked. Eddie stared at her for a moment. "Well?"

"Jane asked if I ever had any serious relationships," said Eddie; his eyes penetrating through to Lily's emerald depths. "I told her I had one….with a girl…an old childhood friend from when I lived in England. But, I never gave her your name. She never asked. I think she knew I was uncomfortable talking about it."

"I see…" Lily mumbled, her heart plummeting. That was what Eddie considered her; a childhood friend? They had been best friends since they were born. They had loved each other since they were in diapers. They went from best friends, to lovers, to potential parents and all he described her as a girl he loved in England who was once a childhood friend.

It was at this point that Lily really considered dropping the case and handing it off to someone else in the Auror Department. It was not that she could not handle it. Oh no, Lily had been able to handle much more high pressured cases. She had been able to handle high pressure even before she had entered the Auror Department. But she was beginning to realize what Ron was trying to tell her when she had decided to take on the case; about the emotional trauma and attachment that she had once felt for Eddie that was finally catching up with her. She continued to pace the apartment trying to get rid of her thoughts on her feelings about Eddie and more on Jane, his fiancé, and her kidnap. How could she give one hundred percent to this case if all she could do was think about her past relationship with Eddie? Lily wanted to physically slap herself.

"You still haven't explained why King Tut needed to hear your name out of all names in this world," said Eddie impatiently as he took the cups and placed them in the sink, turning to face Lily with arms crossed over his chest.

"Whether you want to admit it or not, someone knew that you were once a wizard and about your connection with me," said Lily, not really looking at him. "And it was someone who has some kind of horrible grudge against you." Eddie stared at her for a moment and cocked an eyebrow.

"So you think that whoever kidnapped Jane is using her and me to get to you?" he asked slowly, as though trying to comprehend what she was trying to tell him. Lily simply nodded and sat herself down on his couch, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration and impatience. At first, Eddie did not say or do anything. He just stared at Lily giving her that same, cocked eyebrow look. Lily noticed the look and put on a defensive posture.

"What?"

"Lily, I understand what you're saying," said Eddie in a tone that sounded as though he were talking to a five year old. Lily immediately felt anger bubble in her stomach but she did not say anything, allowing Eddie to continue his train of thought. "But, don't you think you're being just a tad pretentious?"

"Excuse me? Pretentious?" hissed Lily. When they were teenagers, that hiss used to be able to put Eddie in his place. But he ignored the tone and continued to speak to Lily in that condescending attitude.

"I know that you're the famous witch who defeated the darkest wizard of all time and I understand that you're the daughter of the famous Boy Who Lived," Eddie trailed on. Lily felt the anger rising from her stomach and towards her chest, causing her heart to pound angrily against her ribs. "But, you maybe you should finally realize that the entire world does not revolve around you."

The bubble exploded and Lily jumped to her feet with her emerald green eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips. Eddie finally noticed the look on her face and his own eyes widened and fear and he took a step back, realizing that he had probably said way too much. Lily walked towards him until her face was only inches from his; and that was only because she was so much shorter than him. Eddie gulped and stuttered, desperately trying to find an apology.

"I'm fully aware that the world does not revolve around me, Edward Weasley," snarled Lily, a fire starting to go ablaze. Eddie wanted to take a step back, but the look in Lily's eyes made him too scared to move. "In fact, I wish it would revolve around me less. I would do anything to trade my life for the life of a normal, ordinary witch."

"You misunderstood me," Eddie lied quickly. "I wasn't saying-"

"Don't lie to me! That's _exactly_ what you were saying!" Lily nearly shouted, finally causing Eddie to stumble backwards. He did not understand why Lily being so angry with him was frightening him; and not to mention upsetting him. It was like when they were kids and teenagers all over again.

"Lils, I'm sorry-"

"Don't you dare call me that!" screeched Lily, pulling out her wand and pointing it at Eddie. Eddie was too terrified and to notice the desperation and agony in her voice.

After taking in several gulps of air and regaining her composure, Lily lowered her wand and took in a deep breath of air before letting it fall limply to her side and she suddenly became very interested in her feet. Running her other hand through her hair, she closed her eyes, as though something had suddenly pained her.

"I apologize," said Lily, her voice suddenly soft and quiet. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. It was not professional of me. But, I just couldn't take it; you lost the privilege to call me 'Lils' a long time ago, Eddie Weasley."

"Lily-"

"Just leave me alone, Ed," whispered Lily, as she pocketed her wand and walked into Eddie's bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Eddie half wanted to go in there and say something, anything to her. But, she had requested to be left alone so he decided to respect her request. Instead, he made himself another cup of tea, except, unlike the other, this cup had a small shot of good old Jack Daniels in it. As a result, it was not long before he was fast asleep on his couch with the television on.

* * *

A crack of thunder completely startled Eddie out of his slumber, off of the couch, and on to the floor of his living room. Trying to get his bearings together, he looked around, not realizing where and what he was. Finally, when his eyes readjusted to the light and he finally remembered where he was and why he was sleeping on the couch; he groaned and got to his feet as another crack of thunder shook the apartment. He stumbled over to the kitchen and began rummaging through the refrigerator for a midnight snack when he heard a small, scratchy voice quietly swear profusely from inside his bedroom.

Eddie could not believe that Lily was still locked inside his bedroom and not sleeping. He figured that with all the work she had to do as Mistress of Magic and on this case, she would want to get some sleep. It took several minutes for him to debate on whether he should go in there and see what she was up to. Lily did request to be alone but that was four hours ago; she had to have calmed down by now. Making a courageous move, he walked from the kitchen towards his bedroom door which was just down the hall. He stood there looking at it for several minutes before he took a slow, deep breath and gently knocked. Why was he suddenly so nervous about facing Lily? I mean, after all, she was just Lily!

"Come in," he heard Lily mumble. Eddie timidly opened the door and saw her sitting on his bed with her notebook and beaded bag sitting there beside her. She had a quill in her hand and she was biting the end of it, her eyes focused determinedly at the opened notebook in front of her. Eddie continued to stand in the doorway and watch her, cautious on whether he should be the first one to speak.

"Are you still mad at me?" asked Eddie, finally breaking the silence. Lily did not even look up at him; she just gave him a rude hand gesture that would have made her mother or Hermione slap her in the face. Eddie gave a weak chuckle and stayed rooted in the doorway, daring not to take a step further. "I take that is a yes."

"I'm just trying to figure out this clue," said Lily simply, still not looking up at him. Eddie moved across the room and sat down in the chair across the bed.

"Do you want any help?"

"No."

"Lily, come on," said Eddie, "don't be like this. We need to be able to work together if we're ever going to find Jane." Lily continued to ignore him and did not look up at him, but just stared at the notebook. "Lily, I apologize for calling you my old nickname. It was just out of habit…and it won't happen again." It was the first time Lily looked up at him since he had entered the room.

"Good," was all that she said before turning back to the notebook. It was several moments of complete and utter silence that began to make Eddie feel restless. He hated the awkward silence and began shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"Lily, can I ask you a question?" asked Eddie suddenly.

"Sure."

"Why did you get so angry when I called you be your old nickname?" asked Eddie curiously, staring intently at Lily. When Lily did not look up at him or respond, he decided to press on. "Did it have anything to do with what King Tut said?"

At those words, Lily nearly choked on her own saliva and nearly dropped her quill; fumbling around with it before finally catching it and trying to catch her breath. When she caught her breath, she looked up at Eddie wide-eyed for a split second; so split that Eddie was almost sure that he imagined it. But, when he blinked, Lily was looking at him with an impassive look on her face.

"King Tut didn't say anything," said Lily, not meeting his eye.

"Yes, he did," said Eddie, still staring at her. "You know he did…about…the unborn child…"

"BLOODY HELL, ED!" bellowed Lily as she stood up, grabbed the notebook and threw it across the room. Eddie jumped out of his chair clearly startled.

"Lily!"

"Are you really bringing this up now?" shouted Lily, throwing her hands up in the air. Eddie stood his ground.

"Yes, Lily, we need to talk about it eventually, especially if it's going to disrupt your work ethic on this case!" cried out Eddie. Lily turned to him sharply with that same familiar fire in her green eyes.

"Eventually?" she hissed in a harsh whisper. Eddie took a step back and nearly stumbled back into his arm chair. "I wanted to talk about it eight years ago when it actually happened! But, you didn't want to talk about it, Ed! Instead of talking about you got on a plane and went halfway across the world without so much as word for the past eight years!"

Eddie did not say anything; he could not say anything. Because deep down, he knew that she was absolutely right. When Lily needed him the most, he ran away all the way to another country and never even bothered to contact her once to see how she was doing. It would have been different had this been just a typical guy who broke her heart but Eddie knew that he was different Lily's eyes; she held him to atypical standard because not only was he one of her former boyfriends; but he had been her best friend since birth. Eddie suddenly felt nauseous but he simply licked his lips as he watched Lily go and retrieve the notebook and roughly tossing it back on to the bed.

"I'm so-"

"Don't apologize, Ed," snapped Lily, narrowing her eyes at him. "I don't want to hear it. I just want to get this case over and done with so that way we can go back to the way we were; pretending that the other one does not exist."

Eddie was about to object and say that there was never a day where he did not think about her, but he knew that would only make her even angrier than she already was. Instead, he bit his lip and ran a frustrated hand through his bushy locks and did not dare to look back at Lily anymore. Leaning forward in the chair, he rested his elbows on his knees, his head almost between his legs. It seemed like hours, but it was only minutes before he heard Lily sighed and he chanced a glance at her. He saw that she was sitting in a very similar position as he was, and looked just as stressed and frustrated as he felt.

"Let me just ask you one thing before we start talking about this damned clue," started Lily, not looking at him. Eddie leaned eagerly. "Was it the fact that we lost our unborn son that made you leave? Or was it me?"

Eddie's widened; out of all the things that Lily could have asked him, he had not expected her to ask that. And he was not sure how, or even if, he wanted to answer her.

"I don't know, Lily," he said uncertainly, but one could definitely hear the strain and frustration in his voice. "It was a lot of things. But, no, it wasn't because of you. We were seventeen…we were graduating and going to the real world…got pregnant…just defeated You-Know-Who…it was just all too much for me to handle, so I left."

"At least you had a good reason," mumbled Lily sarcastically as she flipped a page in her notebook, pretending that she was not listening or that she even cared. Eddie did not argue with her and heaved out a defeated sigh. He knew Lily would never listen or understand what he was going through at the time. Then again, maybe he should have thought of what Lily may have been going through at the time. It was selfish of him and Eddie wanted to tell her so, but he knew she would hear none of it.

"Alright, this clue," started Lily, her anger all of the sudden melted away from her voice. It startled Eddie. "The two other clues have both been national landmarks of some kind. I'm can almost bet my life in guessing that this one might be a landmark as well."

"They've also been in different countries," said Eddie smartly. Lily nodded in approval and made a note in her notebook.

"I guess that means we can cross out America and Egypt. That means, we have, what? One hundred and ninety-three countries to choose from?" asked Lily sarcastically.

"Well, let's not make it easy on ourselves," retorted Eddie, just as sarcastic as she was. Lily ignored him and repeated the clue out loud to him.

"_I am a King's castle made of stone of scone_

_In the past, you would surely die if you tried to visit me alone_

_In the land where the little men drink_

_Give me a kiss and you will surely sink."_

"Alright, so, it's a castle made of scone," said Eddie, his voice trailing off. Lily nodded in agreement.

"The clue makes no sense, Lily," said Eddie, clearly defeated. Lily glared at him. That was one of the qualities she had come to hate about Eddie; he was always ready to just quit and give up.

"It makes perfect sense!" snapped Lily. "It's just a matter of breaking it down. Take the third line for example; that clear as day."

"What do you mean?"

"I think it's in Ireland," said Lily smartly, after putting on her glasses and studying the clue very closely. "_In the land where the little men drink_. Little men can be considered leprechauns…and the Irish are stereotyped to love their drinking."

"So, a castle in Ireland made of scone…" said Eddie, his voice trailing off. "Are there any castles in Ireland?"

"The most famous one is probably the Blarney Castle…BLOODY HELL!"

"What?" asked Eddie anxiously, his chestnut eyes going wide with a mix of concern, worry, and excitement.

"The Blarney Stone!" said Lily proudly. "Tourists are known to kiss the Blarney Stone! The fourth line mentions kiss! And if they ever tried to kiss it without someone watching over them, they can fall and injure themselves; maybe even die. And the Blarney castle is made of scone! Ed, this all make sense! The fourth clue is the Blarney Stone in Ireland!" Eddie jumped out of his seat and nearly jumped on top of Lily, hugging her tightly. He was not sure if it was because he was genuinely proud of, whether he was excited to find Jane, or if he just wanted an excuse to touch Lily.

"GET OFF OF ME!" shouted Lily angrily, causing Eddie to jump off of her as though she were on fire. He sat up and put his hands up in defense, knowing fully that Lily would not hesitate to punch him in the face. After all, she had done that in the past.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, still holding his hands up as Lily stuffed her notebook back into her beaded bag. An extremely hostile look had lined her features. "I just…couldn't help myself. I mean, you're bloody brilliant, Lily!"

"I'm just doing my job," she said simply before grabbing one of Eddie's pillows and walking out of the bedroom towards the couch that Eddie had previously deserted. Eddie watched her as she left; part of him did not want her to leave.

"Lily?" he called out as she reached the door with her belongings and the pillow. She stopped dead in her tracks when he called out to her. She did not respond but Eddie knew that she was listening. "I'm sorry about before. I think you might be right about the kidnappers; they are using Jane and me to get to you. I mean, how else would have Puckles known your name? What else explains the need for King Tut to hear your name out of all names?"

"I'm glad you decided to see reason," said Lily stiffly, still not turning around to face him. She took another step towards out the door, but Eddie called out to her again.

"Lily?"

"What?"

"Why are they doing all of this? I mean, what do they want from you?" asked Eddie curiously.

"I don't know," whispered Lily. "But I'll find out." She still refused to face him and took another step out the door.

"Lily?"

"What?" She sounded more irritated this time.

"Stay in here tonight?" asked Eddie. He saw Lily stiffen and immediately corrected himself. "It doesn't have to be that way. I just…don't want to be alone tonight."

Lily did not say anything. He saw her posture slacken and she breathed in deeply. Eddie knew that she was internally debating on whether she should stay in his bedroom that night. He waited in anticipation.

"Be up at 5:00 am," said Lily, no emotion in her voice. Eddie felt his heart begin to sink. "We're heading for Ireland in the morning."

With that, Lily closed the door behind her and headed over to the living room couch, leaving Eddie in his bedroom completely and utterly alone.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle.

The tension between Lily and Eddie is pretty intense and I promise you, it only gets better!

I apologize for my lack of update. With a full time job and graduate school, I barely have time to breathe much less write my stories. I've been neglecting all of my stories; including the one I hope to have published one day. Please be patient with me and please keep reviewing! They definitely are something that can make me smile and get through a rough day of work. So, please, review but most importantly, enjoy!


	10. The Blarney Stone

**Chapter 10 - The Blarney Stone:**

Eddie did not sleep that night.

The night consisted of him tossing and turning; his thoughts racing back and forth between Jane and Lily. He did not understand why or how this was happening and he never imagined it would. Despite the fact that he would always have some sort of strong attachment and connection to Lily, because of their long and intense history, he never thought that this situation would force his deep feelings for her to rekindle. Plus, the thunder and raindrops from last night's storm probably do not help him fall into a deeper slumber.

Eddie could not help but wonder if Lily was having the same problem.

But, as he stumbled out of his bedroom, with dark circles underneath his tired, bloodshot eyes and his already bushy hair in complete disarray, and saw Lily sitting at the kitchen counter looking as fresh as a daisy, he pushed aside the thought and deemed it as impossible. Lily could never feel the way she once did about him, especially after ending their relationship that way that he had and treating her the way that he did over the past eight years. And if those feelings were somehow buried deep inside of her, he knew that Lily could never forgive him enough to actually act on them. Plus, Lily held herself up in the highest respects; she would never act on romantic feelings for a man who was engaged to another woman, no matter how strong or deep they were.

"The kettle is full hot tea, though I don't know how hot it is, and there's some toast for you in the toaster," said Lily, not looking at him or taking her eyes off of her notebook. She had her glasses on again and Eddie partly wished she would wear them all the time; like she used to when they were kids. "Get dressed quickly. We have a lot to do today."

"Alright," grumbled Eddie as he quickly shoveled the toast into his mouth. He poured himself a cup of tea and chugged it quickly; it was actually rather cold, before going into his bedroom to change.

"Should I pack anything?" asked Eddie while he pulled a comfortable polo shirt over his head. He heard Lily give a sigh of frustration.

"I have everything we need in the beaded bag!" she said impatiently. Eddie bit his lip, immediately feeling stupid. Lily had been doing this for years; of course she was prepared! After changing and making sure that his bushy hair was tamed, he walked into the kitchen to see Lily taking off her glasses and placing them, along with the notebook, into the beaded bag. She caught sight of Eddie and cocked an eyebrow.

"Awfully dressed up for a kidnapping case, wouldn't you say?" asked Lily dryly, clearly making fun of him. Eddie narrowed his eyes at her but the comment lingered in his mind. Why had he gotten dressed up; to impress her? That was stupid; Lily was far from being anywhere remotely impressed with him. He shrugged. Lily continued to ignore him and grabbed a jeweled piggy bank that Jane had made for him once. It was positively the ugliest thing that Eddie had ever seen.

"I transformed this into a Portkey," explained Lily. "It should take us right to the Blarney Castle in Ireland. One of my former co-workers will be meeting us there. He moved to Ireland to work in their ministry a few years ago."

"Next time ask before you turn one of my gifts from Jane into a Portkey," snapped Eddie. He was not sure why he was suddenly snapping at her for turning that disgusting thing into a Portkey; he did not particularly like the piggy bank. In fact, Eddie more or less hated the gift; he just wanted to push Lily's buttons which he successfully did as Lily glared at him and tightened her old on the piggy bank.

"Considering it was covered in dust and sitting at the bottom of the hall closet," snarled Lily, "I didn't think it mattered." Eddie ignored her comment and continued to bombard Lily with questions.

"And I thought we were traveling by plane. Y'know…Muggle style."

"We were," started Lily, "but the kidnappers seem to be able to follow us no matter how we travel. So I think its best that we just travel quicker in order to save time so we can find Jane quicker."

"Why not just go straight to the Blarney Stone?" asked Eddie. "Why the Blarney Castle?"

"I'd prefer if we didn't just pop in," said Lily. "If we are able to approach it slowly, I'll have time to assess what is going on and make sure that we do not walk into another dangerous trap like we did with the tomb of King Tut." Eddie paused for a moment and simply nodded. He did not say anything because he could not. Everything Lily was saying made perfect sense. He just simply watched her as she zipped up her sweatshirt and threw the chain of the beaded bag over her shoulder.

"You ready?"

"Yeah..."

"On three…one…two…three!"

Lily and Eddie each touched a side of the jeweled piggy bank and the familiar feeling of twirling and their stomachs falling out of their bodies took over. Lily closed her eyes tightly and before she knew it; they were landing on soft, damp grass with a strong smell of salt and sea rising through the crisp, morning air. Both of them jumped to their feet and Lily immediately looked around. They were standing in front of a stone castle and Eddie felt a shiver go down his spine. He suddenly had a bad feeling…not a feeling like they were in danger…just a bad one. Lily was still looking around, squinting. Her eyes settled on a young, handsome man who was waving at them in the distance and she beamed before running over to him.

"Maddox!" she called out cheerfully. Eddie raised an eyebrow and felt his nails dig deep into his palms as the man embraced her. Maddox was tall and rugged, with jet-black hair that glared blue in the sunlight and fell casually into his violet eyes. And those violet eyes absolutely lit up when he saw Lily and his smile showed off dazzling white teeth. Eddie ran a hand through fiery red, bushy looks and knew that, looks wise he was no match for this Maddox character.

"Lily petal, how are you?" he said pleasantly as he hugged tightly. Eddie cringed at the nickname, as Lily used to hate the term, 'Petals.' However, it did not seem to bother Lily in the slightest and that made Eddie's stomach completely drop.

"Busy," she answered honestly. She turned to Eddie, who did not fail to notice that Maddox had not removed his arms from around Lily. "Ed, this is Maddox Belmas. Maddox, this is Ed Weasley. I am working on his case."

"Right, Lily petal told me all about your fiancé," said Maddox as he reached out to shake Eddie's hands. Eddie gripped it as tight as he could but it did not seem to faze him. "I am so sorry for what has happened to her. If there is anything I can do, please let me know." The worst part was, he actually sounded sincerely sorry over Jane's kidnap. Eddie figured that this should make him hate Maddox less, but it only made him hate him even more.

"Not that you need my help," said Maddox, throwing a playful arm around Lily and ruffling her hair. "You've got the best of the best working on this case! She'll find your fiancé in no time!"

"That's what I'm paying her for," said Eddie coldly. Maddox's smile immediately faltered and he gave Lily a concerned look. Lily just narrowed her eyes at Eddie before turning back to Maddox.

"Just, go get your wand and we'll meet you over there," said Lily sweetly. Maddox nodded before turning around and walking in the northern direction. When he was out of earshot, Lily rounded on Eddie with her eyes narrowed and a horrified look on her face.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" she snapped angrily.

"What?" asked Eddie defensively, his eyes going wide.

"Why are you being so cold and rude?" asked Lily, her face going red with anger. "You're bloody lucky he is damn well helping us."

"I don't need your bloody damn boyfriend's help!" growled Eddie, his own face going red. "Besides, I thought you were 'the best.'" Eddie was now taunting her and Lily could feel her temper rising to the surface. "Why do we even need his help?"

"Because I know nothing of the magical contents of the Blarney Stone," said Lily impatiently. "The last time we went into a rune with magical contents, we almost died. Maddox used to be my partner in the Auror department and transferred to Ireland to work on these ruins about a year before I became Mistress. I trust him. Plus, he's very talented and will be able to help us without getting into any trouble."

"I'm sure he was your partner in many ways," snarled Eddie sarcastically and suggestively. Lily's eyes widened ferociously, pulling out her wand and pointing it directly at his chest.

"You watch yourself, Edward Weasley," she growled menacingly. For a moment, Eddie had finally come to understand why she had been the witch destined to defeat Voldemort; why she had become such a famous Auror and why she had been elected Mistress of Magic. Eddie had never seen anyone look so angry…so menacing in all of his life. A green fire was blazing dangerously in her eyes and it frightened him. For the first time, he feared Lily. He simply gulped as she continued. "I'll throw you off of this case so fast that it will make your head spin! Maddox is my friend and former partner. He is helping us. You best show him some respect. I am also the Mistress of Magic…you best show me some respect as well. Is that understood?" Eddie did not say anything; he did not even nod. But, he did not have to. Lily saw the fear in his chestnut brown eyes before lowering her wand and following Maddox in a northern direction.

Eddie followed her hesitantly with his hands in his pockets. She had already reached Maddox and was in an intense, yet animated conversation with him when Eddie finally caught up with her. He did not say anything, nor did Lily or Maddox pay any attention to him.

"So, what did you find out?" asked Lily, taking out her glasses and notebook. Maddox saw her antics and laughed.

"Still taking notes, huh Lily petal?" he asked with a charming, lop-sided grin that made Eddie want to gag.

"It hasn't failed me yet, Maddox," said Lily simply, though a smile was playing at her lips. "I hate to rush this reunion but we do need to find his fiancé as quick as possible. So you need to tell me; what have you found out?"

"Always cut right to the chase," said Maddox. Lily gave him an exasperated look. "Alright, alright…the both the Blarney Stone and the Blarney Castle were built by Muggles so they have no magical beginnings or secrets. I'm actually kind of surprised that the kidnappers wanted you to come here…especially with so many magical landmarks out there."

"All of the clues pointed here though," said Lily reasonably with a shrug. "Maybe our kidnapper is Muggle-born."

"Could be," said Maddox, also shrugging. "But, there should be no surprises when coming across the castle or the stone; unless the kidnappers have set up a surprise for you both. But, I had a few Aurors search the castle and the stone. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

"Nothing will be out of the ordinary until Ed and I enter," said Lily bitterly. "They seem to be tracking us somehow so there is no doubt that we will meet some kind of obstacle."

"Then I insist on going with you two," said Maddox firmly. "And you will have no say in the matter, Lily petal. I will get a few other Aurors to accompany us as well."

Eddie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew Lily would object to Maddox and his Aurors going with them to the Blarney Stone. Lily hated being overprotected; especially by men. Eddie knew that much about her and was astounded that an old partner that worked with Lily for many years did not know that. He stood there, smiling cockily, waiting for the sure explosion that would erupt from Lily, but to his surprise, his horror, Lily merely smiled and thanked him for his generosity.

"Close your mouth, Weasley," muttered Lily dryly as she followed Maddox as he summoned two of the several Aurors that had accompanied him. Maddox insisted that he take the lead with Lily behind him, Eddie in the middle, with the other two Aurors bringing up the rear. Eddie complained about having to stay in the middle but since he was the only one without any kind of Auror training, it was insisted.

Using impressive and complicated spells, Maddox and his fellow Aurors, known as Bartholomew (whom everyone called Bart) and Jerome, the two managed to somehow close off the Blarney Stone and castle from Muggle tourists and placed Confundus Charms on all of the guards so that they would abandon their posts for a number of hours so that the four wizards and one witch could complete their mission.

Entering the castle was far much easier than entering the tomb of King Tut, which unnerved Lily. As they roamed the stone corridors of the castle, looking for any kind of danger or clue, Lily could not help but think how clear it was, especially to her that the kidnappers were not going to make getting Jane back easier for her; they were giving her riddles to solve and obstacles to overcome when she figured out what the clue was and then came to it. So, why had they made getting to the Statue of Liberty and the Blarney Castle so simple? But, it had been almost impossible to get into and then escape King Tut's tomb?

Then it hit Lily.

The Statue of Liberty and the Blarney Castle and Stone had no magical properties, while King Tut's tomb was the final resting place for one of the most powerful and youngest wizards in wizarding history. There would be no immediate danger and she instantly told Maddox about her theory.

"It's possible, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," he said simply, and he ordered Lily and Eddie's continued protection while they searched the castle.

Eddie felt like they been there for hours and he found himself getting angrier and more frustrated with Lily and Maddox's playful bickering, bantering, and flirting. Even though Lily claimed that they had been partners in the Auror Program and nothing more, Eddie could not help but suspect that Maddox had stronger feelings for Lily than just as an Auror partner and it sent hot flashes of rage through his cold veins. It made him want to charge Maddox and punch him square in the face. But, he knew that Lily would not appreciate or approve of his and this would not earn him any brownie points with his former best friend; so, he decided against it and followed orders, though made it clear that he was not happy to do so.

Out of nowhere, Lily let out a loud, irritated sigh that echoed off of the stone walls of the castle and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Eddie to bump into her and nearly knock her over. To his dismay, Maddox stepped forward and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Thanks Maddox," she mumbled hastily, taking a step away from him. "I appreciate your help but I think we're getting nowhere here."

"What do you mean?" asked Maddox curiously, raising an eyebrow. Eddie shot him a look and then turned to gaze at Lily intently.

"I just don't think we should be searching the castle," said Lily slowly, as she gazed at the corridors with squinting, pondering eyes. "The riddle mentioned a kiss…I think we should be searching the Blarney Stone. I mean, don't most Muggle tourists usually kiss the Blarney Stone?"

"Yes…"

"Then, I'd like to go take a look at that," said Lily, nodding firmly. Eddie had known her long enough to know that the look on her face told Maddox that there was no room for argument. Unfortunately, Maddox had now been blessed with the same knowledge and had tried to talk Lily out of it; insisting that they continue to search the castle, as it was safer. But, Lily merely shook her head with closed eyes.

"There's no negotiating here, Maddox. Ed and I will go to the Blarney Stone with or without your help and your permission."

"Lily, you don't have the authority," started Maddox but Lily whipped out her wand and glared at her former partner. No one noticed the smug look on Eddie's face.

"I wasn't asking for your permission," said Lily, almost hissing. "You're interfering with my case, Maddox. Do you remember what I do to people who attempt to do that? Now, I suggest you either help me or get the hell out of my way!"

"There's no reason to get so hostile, Petals," declared Maddox, taking a step away from Lily with hands up in defense.

"You of all people know how passionate I can get about my work," Lily accused coldly, still glaring at him. Eddie could almost feel the chill radiating off of her and it sent shivers down his spine.

"True…" started Maddox slowly, "though I can't say that I've ever seen you this…passionate about your work." With those words, Maddox glanced long and hard at Eddie with narrowed eyes. Eddie gulped and found his heart beating hard against his chest. It was not his words that frightened and consumed him; it was the meaning behind them. That Lily was not passionate about the case, but who was involved with it.

"Well, I suppose you can say I've come to take my job seriously," said Lily as she pocketed her wand and turning to look back at him with irritation written all over her soft features. "Now, are you escorting Ed and I, or not?" Maddox sighed and ran a hand through his soft, black locks. Eddie rolled his eyes, but only inwardly wishing that he could do the same with his own bush of fiery.

"Fine, let's go," said Maddox with a defeated sigh.

With that, the crew of the five magical beings immediately went to the Blarney Stone.

* * *

"Does it have to be so bloody cold?" shouted Eddie through the cold Irish winds as he wrapped his cloak tighter around himself. Maddox, Bart, and Jerome all shot him dirty looks while Lily rolled her eyes.

"It's not that much colder than it is in England, Ed," mumbled Lily impatiently. "Suck it up or I'll send you back home and I'll solve this case myself." Eddie groaned and did not say another word; instead he decided to mumble incoherent words under his breath as he tightened his hold on his cloak, trying to warm himself up.

"Ginger has a point though," said Bart, also rubbing his hands together to try and keep them warm. Eddie gave him an inappropriate hand gesture, which Lily and everyone else decided to ignore. "We've been standing in front of the damn stone for hours and nothing has happened. Are you sure you got the riddle right?"

"Positive," said Lily, her voice unwavering. She was staring up at the sky and scanning it, as though waiting for something. Eddie knew that she was searching for the midnight, black owl that always bright them letters containing some new information, or the next clue.

"Maybe you're not as brilliant as Maddox let on," said Jerome coolly. Lily shot him a look and was about to open her mouth to retort when:

"She's not brilliant," hissed Eddie, glaring at the Irish Auror, "she's better than brilliant." Everyone stared at Eddie wide-eyed, including Lily. For a while, no one spoke and the red head immediately felt his cheeks start to match his hair.

"Funny," said Jerome, glaring at Eddie. "I got the impression you could not stand the woman." Eddie his opened his mouth again but Lily managed to interrupt, trying to be peacekeeper for a change.

"Listen," said Lily, stepping in between the two. "I think I know why nothing is happening. Maddox, Bart, Jerome, you three need to leave."

"Excuse me?" asked Maddox sharply, stepping forward. Lily turned to him and stood her ground.

"I think that nothing will happen unless Eddie and I show up at the landmark, the answer to the riddle, alone," said Lily reasonably.

"But what if something happens?"

"Eddie and I can manage," said Lily reassuringly, laying her hand on his forearm in a comforting manner. Once again, a fire started blazing in Eddie's chest; a fire that he had not felt in years. In fact, it was a fire in his belly that he had only felt twice in his life; the first time was when Lily was Asher's girlfriend and the second time was when Lily had agreed to go on a date with Hart Rosenbell in their seventh year at Hogwarts. It was a fire of jealousy and it made Eddie feel nauseous; wishing that she would comfort him in the same manner that she was comforting Maddox. After all, it was his fiancé who had gone missing, was it not?

"If you're sure…" said Maddox uncertainly, eyeing Eddie up and down, as though suggesting that he was not worthy enough to fight beside someone like Lily. Lily nodded firmly and reassuringly again.

"I'm positive." Eddie was shocked at how firm she sounded in her decision and it made the fire in his stomach diminish slightly. "If it makes you feel better, if nothing happens in an hour, Eddie and I will meet you back in the castle. Even if do hear or get something, I will let you know. Is that a deal?"

"It'll have to do," said Maddox with a defeated sigh. He leaned in and tenderly placed a kiss on Lily's cheek. "Be careful, Petals." Lily beamed up at him and pinched his cheek playfully.

"I'm always careful," she said with a laugh. Maddox rolled his eyes and shook his head amusedly before demanding that Bart and Jerome follow him. They wandered off into the far distance and Disapparated, no doubt back to the Blarney Castle. Once they were out of earshot, Eddie turned around and looked at Lily anxiously.

"He seems rather fond of you," he said accusingly. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"He's just fond of the veela in me," she said, shaking her head. "Like most men. Maddox may have been my partner, and a great one, and I trust him. But, he's still a man and therefore, tends to think with the wrong head."

"_Lily!_" For some reason, Eddie felt himself blushing severely.

"What?" snapped Lily defensively. "You know I'm not saying anything that's not true!"

"Still, I don't want to hear you speaking like that!" retorted Eddie, inwardly praying that his blush would just calm down. Lily rolled her eyes and continued scanning the sky again. When Eddie finally regained his composure and went to stand beside Lily, and looked up at the clear night sky as well. If it had not been so awkward and tense between the two of them, and if Eddie had not had a fiancé, it would have been a very romantic moment.

Eddie shook his head and tried to shake away any so-called romantic thoughts of Lily; she would not allow such actions and emotions. And he was finally beginning to understand why. After all, he was the one that claimed that he loved her and wanted to marry her someday. But, almost losing Lily, almost becoming a father, and her joining Auror training, he was not sure what to think. Their future had become like nothing he had imagined and he abandoned it because it did not turn out the way that he had wanted it. In short, he had abandoned Lily and her broken her heart before moving on with his life. And he only came in contact with her again when he needed her help; it was almost like Eddie was using her and he suddenly felt guilt consume him. He never did find out how Lily had taken his departure. Lily had always been so strong and he had just assumed that she went on with her life like nothing had ever happened between them. But, judging by her behavior and her treatment of him, he had, in a way, destroyed Lily.

Eddie sighed, wanting desperately to apologize for putting her through everything that he had over the course of the years. But, he knew that this was not the appropriate place or time. Instead, he settled for stuffing his hands into his pockets and turning towards Lily again.

"I think you may have been right," he stated. Lily looked at him with raised eyebrows. "About your theory; about why we were attacked at King Tut's tomb, but not at the State of Liberty or here. These are famous Muggle landmarks; they can't be touched."

"Thanks…I think…" said Lily, giving Eddie a bemused look. She turned to look at the sky again before Eddie interrupted her thoughts, desperate for more contact with her.

"So, you really think something will happen or that another riddle will appear if you and I are alone?" asked Eddie, his voice strained.

"It's the only explanation I can think of," said Lily with a shrug, turning to him. Eddie was surprised to see that there was a certain sparkle in her emerald green eyes; a sparkle he had not seen since they had been together as a couple. It made his heart flutter and he could not stop himself from beaming down at her. They grinned at each other for a moment before Lily turned to look back up at the sky.

"Eddie?" Lily called out, breaking the silence and startling him. Eddie was surprised to see her looking directly into his face.

"Y-yes?"

"Did you really mean what you said before?" asked Lily slowly and uncertainly, as though afraid of the answer. When she noted the confused look on his face, she clarified. "Did you really mean what you said when you claimed that I was a brilliant Auror?" Eddie could not help but think about how endearing she looked. It made him miss the insecure Lily that he had fallen in love and now he knew why; she looked absolutely adorable when she was unsure of herself.

"Absolutely," claimed Eddie, without any hesitation. Once again, the two beamed at each other and he bravely reached out to take her hand. Lily stared down at their joined hands wide-eyed and Eddie could hear her breathing had increased drastically. Eddie squeezed her hand gently and instinctively pulled her close to him. "You are brilliant, Lily." At these words, Lily knew that he did not just mean she was brilliant because she was an Auror.

She adamantly refused to look away from their joined hands until Eddie whispered tenderly to her: "Lily, I…"

"Don't, Ed…"

"No, you need to hear me out," he said urgently. "I…I'm really not sure how to say this…"

"Then don't say it," snapped Lily angrily, pushing him away. "I don't want to hear it."

"Lily, please…please stop pushing me away from you," said Eddie desperately, taking another step closer to her as she took another step back. "You used to confide in me…"

"Yes, used to! Exactly!" bellowed Lily angrily, raising her fist. "Before you decided to turn your back on me and everyone else you loved and run away like a coward! Give me a reason why I shouldn't turn my back on you? Give me a reason why I should trust you when you looked me in the eye said you didn't want me in your life anymore?"

"How…I…I never said something like that!" retorted Eddie incredulously.

"You didn't have to say it!" Lily was now screeching like a distressed owl. "Actions speak louder than words, Weasley and when you didn't bother to contact me or any of us and ignored us when we tried to contact you…I think that said enough!"

"Lily there is absolutely no excuse for what I did," said Eddie softly. His voice was so surprisingly soft that it startled Lily, considering she was screaming at the top of her lungs and furiously at him. "But, maybe you should know that, despite how much I missed my family and our friends, you were all I thought about."

"Oh, don't even go there," hissed Lily in a warning tone, taking another step away from him, as though he were something that could harm her. "Don't you dare go there! I don't want to hear your lies! You have a fiancé; whom you…we are trying to save! How could you lie about something like that?"

"Because it's not a lie," whispered Eddie. "You know, Lily, you didn't try and make an effort to contact me either. You're the only person who didn't try and contact me when I was in America…ever…"

"You're not going to turn this around on me, Weasley," snapped Lily, glaring at him. "I didn't contact you because I was protecting myself."

"From me?"

"Something like that," whispered Lily, suddenly very interesting in her shoes. But, because she was looking at the ground, she was not able to back away when Eddie advanced on her and used his forefinger to lift her chin, forcing Lily to look into his, warm, chestnut eyes.

"I'm sorry Lily," he whispered tenderly, causing Lily to noticeably shiver. "I…I'm not going to lie to you…"

"That'll be a first," Lily mumbled harshly and sarcastically.

Eddie ignored her comment. "I thought that I could forget about you when I got engaged to Jane. But since you have come bursting into my life, you…my feelings for Jane are nothing compared to the feelings I once felt for you…that I still have for you. Lily…you were my best friend and I've never met anyone who I can relate to and confide in like I do with you. Even now, after so many years of silence from you, I still find myself yearning for your company…and your touch. This confuses me, Lily because I thought these feelings had long since disappeared but…" his voice trailed off.

"Bloody hell, why is this so difficult?" he nearly shouted, but he held on to Lily, determined not to let her go. "When I saw you flirting with Maddox, I wanted to punch a wall and I felt something that I hadn't felt since you dated Asher and Hart Rosenbell. That just proves to me, Lily, that my feelings for you have not changed and I don't think they ever will…

"Lily…I…I think I'm still in love with you and…I need to do this…just one more time before you hex my bits off…"

Without waiting for a response or even a reaction from Lily, Eddie leaned and pressed his lips to Lily's, kissing her for the first time since before the final battle during their seventh year at Hogwarts. Despite how long it had been, to Eddie, he moving his lips against hers was like coming home again. Even if Lily was completely stiff and nonresponsive due to obvious shock over Eddie's actions, kissing her was pure bliss.

When Eddie pulled away, he looked directly at Lily's face and saw that she had never closed her eyes. In fact, she looked absolutely horrified; her eyes were widened in horror, fright, and confusion. Her lips resembled that of a fish, her skin was absolutely pale and sickly looking, and her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. Eddie bit his lip, waiting for the hex or the fist that was sure to hit him at any time. But, at the same time he could not help but wonder if Lily had felt anything that he had felt during that kiss. She had been on guard with him since he had stepped his foot back into her life but that told him that maybe she had buried his feelings for him a long time ago. Could that kiss somehow unleash them again?

But, before Eddie could contemplate his feelings and Lily's reaction any further; and before Lily could raise her fist and punch Eddie square on the jaw, the pair was interrupted by the arrival of a black, midnight owl, so black that it blended in with the night sky, hooting impatiently and flying towards them with a scroll attached to its leg.

* * *

A note from the Jitterbelle. So, I am an absolute failure and have not updated this in over a year. I am so, so, so, so so, so unbelievably sorry. The reason for this is probably because I did not have this story outlined like I did my previous stories. However, many of you will be happy to know that I have written a brief outline for the story and I finally know where it is going! I appreciate your patience and continue to bear with me. I never not finish something I start and will now abandon any of my stories.

Please enjoy and don't forget to review! They are truly inspiring and are a great ego boost to any writer!


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